Poetry & Poets in Rags

Dear Poetry Aficionados,

Poetry & Poets in Rags blog

Happy Valentine's Day! Oh, and do we have love poetry from everywhere in the world this week. In News at Eleven, our third item is really a clutch of links to favorite love poems. In Great Regulars, you can find love poetry brought to us by Fleda Brown, a discussion of it by David Orr, a Valentine's Day discussion by Carol Rumens of a poem by Ruth Fainlight, a love poem matched by Katherine Schulten with the science light show of fireflies. Amid this poetic potion, that includes Shakespeare and Rita Dove, the Weekend Poem from Huffington Post is 'The Garden Of Love' by William Blake.

Besides these works of love, we have other news, and again, from all over the globe, on poetry and poets. To note, the last few articles in News at Eleven are hard critiques. So it's not all lubby dubby. But let's begin with our first item of the day, and the week, love poems from Donald Hall, whose marriage to Jane Kenyon stands as one of the great loves in poetry that brought about great poetry. And that's not all from Donald Hall. He's got a hard critique himself for someone who talked baby talk to him. And our second item? Another poetry pair of love, whose letters are making it to the web.

January's IBPC contest results are up. Heartfelt thanks to our new judge for these Winter months, John Timpane. Congratulations to the winning poets, and the boards where they workshop!:

1st Place: A Bedtime Story, by Terreson, of Delectable Mnts

2nd Place(tie): Hardwood Autumn, by Allen M. Weber, of Muse Motel

2nd Place(tie): Matryoshka, by Brenda Levy Tate, of PenShells

3rd Place: The Cantu Series, by Zeke E. Sanchez, of Delectable Mnts

HM: You may misunderstand, by Cherryl E. Garner, of criticalpoet.net

HM: In the Night Still Dark, by Jim Zola, of The Waters Poetry Workshop

Thanks for clicking in.

Yours,
Rus

Our links:

IBPC: Poetry & Poets in Rags

Poetry & Poets in Rags blog

IBPC Home

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: Poems From 'The Back Chamber'

2012-02-14T13:05:00.000-05:00

by Donald Hall

Love's Progress

from NPR: Donald Hall: A Poet's View 'Out The Window'

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: "I love your verses with all my heart,

2012-02-14T13:03:00.004-05:00

dear Miss Barrett ..."

So begins the first love letter to 19th century poet Elizabeth Barrett from her future husband, fellow poet Robert Browning.

Their 573 love letters, which capture their courtship, their blossoming love and their forbidden marriage, have long fascinated scholars and poetry fans.

from The Associated Press: Love letters of Barrett, Browning go online
then Wellesley: The Browning Collection

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: The best love poems are written by

2012-02-14T13:00:00.001-05:00

the most faithless lovers, Burns and Byron. There are so many great Burns and Byron love poems, but my favourite is Byron's poem to a young man at Missolonghi who looked after him in his last illness. It begins "I watched thee when the foe was at our side" and the last stanza has the greatest split infinitive in literature.

Poems of unrequited love are very powerful, and this is one of the best. I also admire "When we two parted in silence and tears" but I guess these aren't very good for St Valentine.

"Love and Death" by Lord Byron

from The Guardian: Love poems: writers choose their favourites for Valentine's Day
or The Guardian: The best love poems: writers choose their favourites--interactive
then RadioNational: Love Poetry
then The Guardian: Open thread: What are your favourite love poems?

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: "Among contemporary Arab writers and

2012-02-14T12:55:00.000-05:00

poets there is definitely this sense that behind our work there is this obligation almost, to change the world, to cause change to happen. For me, I believe that when you talk about poetry, it's not just about the words on the page. It's part of an intellectual revolution, because if you see the world in a cultural sense, in an artistic sense, that makes you think about it more deeply. That's why I think there's a unity between poetry, thought and change."

from The National: Adonis offers his poetic view
then CNN: My Syria, by 'greatest living' Arab poet
then The Guardian: Syrian poet Adonis introduces his artworks--gallery
then The National: Adonis's translator shares details of his own nuanced art
then The Guardian: Syrian authors condemn 'savage' Homs bombardment

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: In his best poems he [Peter Redgrove]

2012-02-14T12:50:00.000-05:00

effortlessly conveys a sense of teeming, overspilling, self-delighting creation. "On the Patio" describes a wineglass left out in a thunderstorm: the speaker sees the glass "overflowing with thunderwater" and imagines "The cloud crushed into a glass". The poem ends exhilaratingly: "Suddenly I dart out into the patio,/Snatch the bright glass up and drain it,/Bang it down on the thundery steel table for a refill." Redgrove sounds as though he has imbibed creation itself. The poem is a dare to be more alive to the possibilities of the world and the language in which we live.

from The Guardian: Collected Poems by Peter Redgrove--review

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: The court ruled that Zhu Yufu's poem

2012-02-14T12:35:00.000-05:00

It's Time, sent using the Skype online chat service, deserved stern punishment, according to his son.

"Sentencing veteran activist Zhu Yufu to seven years for writing a poem is further evidence of the Chinese government's continuing repression of anyone who is perceived to directly or indirectly criticize its policies," said Sarah Schafer, Amnesty International's China researcher.

"These harsh measures are a sign that the Chinese leadership must be afraid of losing its grip on power. Why else would it sentence someone to seven years in prison for writing a poem?"

from Amnesty International: China must release activist sentenced to seven years for writing poem
then National Post: This is the poem that got a Chinese activist seven years in jail
then Reuters UK: China jails dissident ahead of vice president's U.S. trip
then Time: Poets, Peaceniks and Protesters: Meet China’s Leading Dissidents

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: Shadow and Smoke

2012-02-14T12:25:00.000-05:00

Charles Wright

Live your life as though you were already dead,

from The New York Review of Books: Shadow and Smoke by Charles Wright

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: "One has to feel a little sorry

2012-02-14T12:20:00.000-05:00

for Mr. Robertson that he feels it necessary to claim the hard-won achievement of others."

Mr. [Robin] Robertson, who is poetry and fiction editor at the publisher Jonathan Cape, said he could not see why Mr. [Ben] Okri was getting so "overwrought" about his comment.

"I only ever edited one book of Ben's, a fine collection of stories called Stars of the New Curfew, which was published in 1988 by Secker & Warburg.

from Telegraph: Ben Okri 'disappointment' at editor he claims re-wrote his work

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: One might also note that [G.K.] Chesterton

2012-02-14T12:15:00.000-05:00

wrote his jaw-dropping line about the "cringing Jew" at a time when England was becoming preoccupied by the so-called Marconi case, involving the "scandal" of Jewish commerce in politics, and thus helped to cement the idea that there was a connection between the two. At any rate, I don't think even the best of the poetic quotations can redeem Chestertonianism from the reactionary implications of the prosaic ones: they put one too much in mind of another critique of his work by T. S. Eliot.

from The Atlantic Monthly: The Reactionary

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: In one of the most scathing reviews

2012-02-14T12:10:00.000-05:00

ever published here, the new book of poetry by Michael D Higgins has been torn apart by a leading critic.

Professor Kevin Kiely says that the President's latest book is "lame, stale and stilted", that it is "bland, imprecise and ultimately incomprehensible" and that it's so bad that Michael D Higgins "can be accused of crimes against literature".

from The Irish Independent: Critic says President's poems are a 'crime against literature'
from The Irish Independent: Poet praises President's unique verse

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven (Back Page): To the [Philip] Larkin reject pile already

2012-02-14T12:07:00.001-05:00

published, this book's editor, Prof Archie Burnett, assiduously upending and scraping the waste-paper basket, has added a slew of further failures. The work of this most discriminating of poets has come to resemble a midden in which virtually any surviving scrap resembling verse--whether baby-talking valentine or bawdy-talking satire--has been methodically deposited and industriously annotated; the plump poet is treated as a golden goose from which every last tail feather must be plucked.

from Irish Times: Scraping the bottom of the waste paper basket
then Humanities: "Moving and Memorable"
then The Irish Independent: Review: Poetry: The Complete Poems by Philip Larkin Edited by Archie Burnett

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Our phones don't connect to each

2012-02-14T11:00:00.000-05:00

other's countries, for ordinary travellers to get a visa is a process so complicated it may as well include a physical obstacle course, we don't trade freely and we have even managed to turn the most boring sport in the world--cricket--into a constantly tense encounter between our peoples.

But that's the outside. That's not how Indians and Pakistanis feel when they are with each other. I can think of no country in which I am more warmly received than India. (And a Pakistani passport is not exactly a hot welcome card anywhere).

from Fatima Bhutto: Financial Times: The Diary

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: [Adrian Koesters's] poem is beautifully

2012-02-14T10:55:00.000-05:00

and artfully knotted up. Right away she says knitting is like love--it can be restful as well as hell-bent. Whatever fabric is being used--cotton, wool, silk--whatever color, the work slides off the needles like a love note. You can see the rows of letters that make up a note, and the rows of stitches that make up the garment.

from Fleda Brown: Traverse City Record-Eagle: On Poetry: Knitting, like love, has a fringe

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Joy-bringing post on Flavorwire

2012-02-14T10:50:00.000-05:00

spotlighting the world's 20 most beautiful bookstores--shops "so beautiful they're worth getting out of the house (or the country) to visit, whether you need a new hardcover or not"--as chosen by their staffers.

Some I'd seen pictures of before (Livraria Lello, in Porto, Portugal); some--Shakespeare and Co and the glorious Barter Books in Alnwick--I've even visited.

from Sarah Crown: The Guardian: Beautiful bookshops: the world's finest, and your favourites

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Given the fact this post constitutes

2012-02-14T10:45:00.000-05:00

my last to the IOWerZ Bar 'n' Grail and I am moving on to greener pa$ture$, please indulge me while I say GOODBYE my way:

Today, I return the golden key to the silver door opening our IOWerZ dump, er, Bar 'n' Grail, recently revamped and up-spruced by none other than Sally Forth who did a lovely job duplicating the colour of Leonard Cohen's famous blue raincoat on our not-nearly so-sagging sectional sofa, thanks to her re-upholstering skills.

from Judith Fitzgerald: The Globe and Mail: In Other Words: Here's Nancy McKenzie. our George Bowering Baseball Trivia Quiz gal

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: The cold war between north

2012-02-14T10:40:00.001-05:00

American booksellers and Amazon has hotted up this week, with the booksellers joining together to announce that they will not be selling any of the titles published by the online retailer.

The opening salvo was fired last week by America's biggest book chain Barnes & Noble, when it announced that it would not be stocking Amazon Publishing's books.

from Alison Flood: The Guardian: Amazon Publishing bookshop boycott grows

~~~~~~~~~~~

The Booker prize-winning author Ben Okri has damned his editor's claim to have rewritten the dialogue in one of his books as "monstrous, and indeed suspect".

Okri was responding to an interview in the Telegraph in which the poet and editor Robin Robertson said that he had "redone" some of the Lagos patois in the Nigerian author Okri's Stars of the New Curfew, a short story collection published over 20 years ago in 1988.

from Alison Flood: The Guardian: Ben Okri erupts at editor over 'rewriting' claim

~~~~~~~~~~~

The author believes "the appetite for censorship is growing in India", she said. With Rushdie prevented by fears of violence from attending or even speaking via video link at the Jaipur event in January, Nasrin says we are witnessing "the disturbing victory of Islamic gangsters" in Jaipur and Kolkata. "I am wondering how to stop this growing cancer from spreading," she said.

Like Rushdie, Nasrin also suspects her book launch did not represent a genuine security threat.

from Alison Flood: The Guardian: Taslima Nasrin attacks 'cancer' of censorship in Indian society

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: To end the speculation,

2012-02-14T10:35:00.000-05:00

he confirms, "It is true, fellow citizens." The docket that had been lying above his head for many years did, in fact, fall, and when it did, it "gashed [his] baldness."

Arnett positions the docket on a shelf not only above his head but also "over the seat of justice." He seems to need to emphasize that he occupied this "seat of justice," for he wants to put himself in the best light, as all the Spoon River speakers do.

from Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Edgar Lee Masters' Justice Arnett

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: [John] Sargent [Sr.] edited award-winning

2012-02-14T10:30:00.000-05:00

poetry by Theodore Roethke and published such best-sellers as King's "Carrie" (although the book was far more popular as a paperback released by the New American Library), Leon Uris' "QB VII," Peter Benchley's "Jaws" and Alex Haley's "Roots." He also presided over Doubleday's network of radio stations, book clubs and bookstores.

from Hillel Italie: Associated Press: Publisher John Sargent Sr. dies in NYC at age 87

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Exegesis

2012-02-14T10:25:00.002-05:00

by Paul Hostovsky

We couldn't have been more than twelve

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Exegesis by Paul Hostovsky

~~~~~~~~~~~

February ground
by Marge Piercy

Three feet of snow in twenty-four hours

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: February ground by Marge Piercy

~~~~~~~~~~~

Meditation from 14A
by Jennifer Maier

And what if the passage out of this life

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Meditation from 14A by Jennifer Maier

~~~~~~~~~~~

Nightsong
by Philip Booth

Beside you,

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Nightsong by Philip Booth

~~~~~~~~~~~

Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds
by William Shakespeare

Sonnet 56: Sweet love, renew thy force be it not said
by William Shakespeare

Sonnet 116

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds by William Shakespeare

~~~~~~~~~~~

Unable to find
by Laure-Anne Bosselaar

the right way to get out of bed,

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Unable to find by Laure-Anne Bosselaar

~~~~~~~~~~~

The Waking
by Theodore Roethke

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: The Waking by Theodore Roethke

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Carol L. Gloor is an attorney living

2012-02-14T10:20:00.000-05:00

in Chicago and Savanna, Illinois. I especially like this poem of hers for its powerful ending, which fittingly uses the legal language of trusts and estates.

Moment

from Ted Kooser: American Life in Poetry: Column 360

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Veteran author Elizabeth Garber is

2012-02-14T10:15:00.000-05:00

a former poet laureate of Belfast, who writes nonfiction as well as poetry. In this poem for Valentine's week, she celebrates one of life's great feasts.

Feasting

from Wesley McNair: The Portland Press Herald: Take Heart: A Conversation in Poetry

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Better Life

2012-02-14T10:13:00.000-05:00

by Sir Andrew Motion

You think I must be asleep when you sit at my bedside

from Andrew Motion: The Telegraph: Sir Andrew Motion's lament for elderly whose wisdom is ignored

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: During his trial Zhu [Yufu] told

2012-02-14T10:10:00.000-05:00

the court that he had been merely exercising his freedoms as enshrined in the country's Constitution, and that nothing he had done constituted "inciting subversion."

Zhu's wife Zhu Hangli was apparently overcome at the harshness of the sentence. "Seven years," she said in a brief comment on Friday. "That is so cruel. I don't know what else to say."

from Luisetta Mudie: Radio Free Asia: Seven Years in Jail For a Poem

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: This helps underscore something unusual

2012-02-14T10:08:00.001-05:00

about love poems: They're explicitly both private and public. They say "I love you" or "I would very much like to sleep with you" or "I'm very sad that I'm no longer sleeping with you." But they also say, "And you people reading this poem, I hope you're entertained by what I've said thus far." As Eliot puts it in his charmingly stilted love poem "A Dedication to My Wife": "These are private words addressed to you in public."

from David Orr: NPR: Poetic Propositions: Verse And The Art of Seduction

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: According to one of its several traditions,

2012-02-14T10:08:00.000-05:00

St Valentine's Day is the wedding day of the birds. Chaucer refers to it in his poem, Parliament of Fowls, composed in honour of the marriage of Richard II and Anne of Bohemia: "For this was on Seynte Valentyne's day/ When every fowl cometh there to choose his mate." Despite Chaucer's masculine pronoun, it's well-known that, in the bird kingdom as well as elsewhere, the hens usually make such important decisions, and their judgement, with good evolutionary reason, is based on looks. This week's poem, "The Coloration of Feathers" by Ruth Fainlight isn't a love poem nor a study of avian mating habits; it fulfils a more original brief, and sheds light on the mysteries of the gorgeous plumage that might be on show soon, even in Britain, if the weather improves.

from Carol Rumens: The Guardian: Poem of the week: The Coloration of Feathers by Ruth Fainlight

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: This week's Poetry Pairing matches

2012-02-14T10:05:00.000-05:00

Amy Lowell's two-line poem, "A Lover," with a 2011 video about synchronous fireflies that put on a "light show" each June in Tennessee, as well as a 2001 Science article that explores how fireflies control their glow.

from Katherine Schulten: The New York Times: Poetry Pairing: 'A Lover'

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: As long as there have been bridges,

2012-02-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

trolls have hidden beneath them. Same for the Internet.

As long as there have been message boards, discussion groups, and comment strings, there have been "trolls"--people who, under cover of Web anonymity, post bullying, lewd, or off-point comments, disrupting and demeaning the whole enterprise. Some comment strings are moderated, so trolls can be blocked and deleted--but most of cyberspace is, in the words of one (anonymous!) wit, "free range for idiots."

from John Timpane: The Philadelphia Inquirer: Coping with the mischief of Internet trolls

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Zahrad

2012-02-14T09:40:00.001-05:00

Translated by Tatul Sonentz

Celestial Snicker

from The Armenian Weekly: Two Poems by Zahrad

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: [by B.R. Strahan]

2012-02-14T09:35:00.000-05:00

Come March--Come April Day with its sun colored glasses

from The Christian Science Monitor: Come March--Come April

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Distant Music

2012-02-14T09:30:00.000-05:00

by Joan Annsfire

Life was a party I crashed clumsily

from CounterPunch: Poets' Basement: Annsfire, Diver and Sommers

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: This week's Poetry Corner features

2012-02-14T09:25:00.000-05:00

David Swanger, the second Santa Cruz County Poet Laureate. Swanger has received fellowships in poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts and the California Arts Council. He has written a book about poetry, "The Poem as Process," a book about aesthetic education, "Essays in Aesthetic Education," as well as four books of poems. His most recent book of poems, "Wayne's College of Beauty," won the John Ciardi Prize in Poetry, and was a finalist in Fore Word's Book of the Year Awards.

Natural Disaster
(January 1982, Santa Cruz County)

from Good Times Weekly: Poetry Corner: The Poems of David Swanger

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: In the run up the Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T09:20:00.000-05:00

then, here's a love poem by one of the most full-blooded and passionate poets England has ever produced--though not the type you'd expect to see watered down into a greeting card . . .

[by William Blake]

The Garden Of Love

from Huffington Post: The Weekend Poem: 'The Garden Of Love' By William Blake

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Yesterday on the Peninsula

2012-02-14T09:15:00.001-05:00

- Ann Jacobson

I have come to taste the chocolate, the flag is flying.

from Otago Times: Monday's poem

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: In celebration of Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T09:13:00.001-05:00

on Tuesday, a poem by Rita Dove.

Chocolate

Velvet fruit, exquisite square

from PBS: Newshour: Weekly Poem: 'Chocolate'

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: By Val Battenburg

2012-02-14T09:10:00.000-05:00

I'm losing a friend,

from Post-Bulletin: Poem: On losing a friend

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: [by Martha K. Grant]

2012-02-14T09:05:00.000-05:00

Tracking I. D. #910290735

A UPS truck with

from San Antonio Express-News: Poem: 'Tracking I. D. #910290735'

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: The truly great, he implies,

2012-02-14T09:00:00.000-05:00

have given up "the careless life" and "might not even want a second chance" at pursuing it. They have stopped seeking to escape responsibility, finding satisfaction in the completion of its daily tasks; they know "the daily price/of poverty or laughing children or a friend/in pain." The "essential delight of their blood" (a phrase borrowed from Spender) might be disintegrating into "shards of memory", but it retains a reality that is missing from Spender's "ageless springs".

[by Mark Abley]

The Not Quite Great

from The Times Literary Supplement: Poem of the Week: The Not Quite Great

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: Professor [Tristram P. ] Coffin returned

2012-02-14T08:35:00.001-05:00

often to his great scholarly love, the Anglo-American ballad. In his academic writings he argued that many ballads, especially those about the death of the hero, had arisen out of narrative obituary verse, a curious type of folk poetry for which he had great affection.

Printed on broadsides and read or sung at funerals, narrative obituary poems flourished in 18th-, 19th- and early-20th-century America.

from The New York Times: Tristram P. Coffin, Folklorist, Dies at 89

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: [John] Hall, a retired advertising

2012-02-14T08:30:00.000-05:00

director and published poet, died from a head injury on October 14 at Tunbridge Wells Hospital.

from Tunbridge Wells People: 91-year-old died after partner's car hit him

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: [Tempie Ann Bell Holding] was a gifted

2012-02-14T08:25:00.001-05:00

poet, a great dancer, a true friend, and a loving daughter and sister and mother.

from The Herald: Tempie Ann Bell Holding

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: Kye [Kent] liked to play the guitar

2012-02-14T08:23:00.000-05:00

and drums and listen to music. He enjoyed writing stories and poetry, and raking up the yard and then gather around a roaring bonfire.

from Hannibal Courier-Post: Kyelar 'Kye' Kent

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: [John Rezelman] was passionate about

2012-02-14T08:22:00.001-05:00

gardening, sustainable living, and was very creative at making things with wood.

A gifted cartoonist, writer, and poet in 2010 John published a book on the history of potato farming in Steuben County, a story he very much wanted to have preserved.

from The Evening Tribune: John Rezelman

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: [Prof. A.M.K.] Shaharyar's first poetic

2012-02-14T08:21:00.001-05:00

collection was published in 1965 with the title 'Ism-e-Azam'. His second book of poetry entitled ‘Satwan Dar’ was published in 1969. His fourth collection 'Khwab Ka Dar Band Hai' published in 1985 brought him the prestigious Sahitya Academy Award.

Shaharyar also penned the songs for superhit movies like Umrao Jan, Gaman and Fasle, which brought him international fame and prominence. In 1995, his book 'Neend Ki Kirchein' was published and in 1998 his book “Mere Hisse Ki Zameen’ was published in devnagri. His last book till date 'Hasil-e-Sair-e-Jahan' was published in 2001.

from TwoCircles.net: Doyen of Urdu poetry Shaharyar is no more

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: Tributes have begun pouring in

2012-02-14T08:20:00.000-05:00

for [Luis Alberto] Spinetta in Argentina, with a spokesman for the country's culture ministry calling him "an exquisite poet" and a "complete autodidact in his musical training, deep reader of poetry and philosophy, (and) jazz lover".

from Contactmusic: Rocker Spinetta Dies

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: [Geoff] Stevens published many small

2012-02-14T08:15:00.000-05:00

collections of work during his lifetime, but it was in 2004 that his first major collection, The Phrenology of Anaglypta was published, this was followed by A Keelhauling through Ireland and Islands in the Blood. His last collection Sleeping With You and Other Night-time Adventures came out in November, 2011.

In 1976 Mr Stevens met Olive Hyatt, at the Dudley Writers Group and they started the Purple Patch Magazine--described by the Guardian newspaper as a national treasure.

from Express & Star: Tributes to poet Geoff Stevens following his death at 69

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: The last was Wislawa Szymborska (1923-2012).

2012-02-14T08:10:00.000-05:00

Though she was [Zbigniew] Herbert's contemporary, I place her last not only because she outlived both him and [Czeslaw] Milosz, but also because her death last week, at the age of eighty-eight, definitively brings to an end the latest brilliant age of Polish poetry. If there were any reason to feel grateful for four-and-a-half decades of Communist rule in Poland, it might be that these three poets emerged from its highly pressurized constraints like diamonds forced from carbon.

from The New Republic: A Requiem to an Age of Brilliant Polish Poetry
then The News: Poland bids farewell to poet Wisława Szymborska

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: In the pre-war period,

2012-02-14T08:05:00.000-05:00

he [Xuan Tam (nee Phan Hap)] had published his poems in famous magazines including Song Huong (Perfume River), Thanh Nien (Young People), Dai Doan Ket (Great Solidarity) and Phu Nu Viet Nam (Vietnamese Women).

In 1941, he published a collection of poems named Loi Tim Non (The Voice of Young Heart), in which many poems were written when he was 19 years of age. One poem Nghi He (Summer Holiday) won first prize from the Ban Duong newspaper and was selected to be taught at primary school level.

from Viet Nam News: New Poetry's last crusader dies at 97

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: [Colleen] Thibaudeau published her

2012-02-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

first book, Lozenges: Poems in the Shapes of Things in 1965, followed by Ten Letters a decade later, and My Granddaughters Are Combing Out Their Long Hair in 1977. She often depicted domestic scenes and used common household objects as catalysts for her poetry and to draw connections between people and things.

The Canadian Encyclopedia praised her poetry for celebrating "the extraordinary nature of ordinary life by combining the everyday with the otherworldly."

from The Globe and Mail: Poet found magic and mystery in the everyday

~~~~~~~~~~~

February 7th Poetic Ticker Clicking

2012-02-07T23:04:00.001-05:00

News Article Tape:

ragline

The Times Literary Supplement: Spare, enigmatic Lorine Niedecker

ragline

Tablet: St. Leonard's Passion

ragline

Winnipeg Free Press: Portrait of the artist: As an older man

ragline

Bangor Daily News: The rock steady voice of a former Maine poet laureate

ragline

The Vancouver Sun: Tess Gallagher: Poetry has a tender feel for the natural world

ragline

Tablet: Beyond Amichai

ragline

The Hindu: Two Jerusalem Poems

ragline

The Japan Times: Bold move into Tamura's cold verse

ragline

The Guardian: Library Poem by Julia Donaldson

ragline

The Telegraph: Carol Ann Duffy's poetry is demotic and immediate--and there's nothing wrong with that

ragline

Asia Society: Liu Xiaobo and Democracy in China

ragline

Los Angeles Times: Jacket Copy: Like that Chrysler Super Bowl ad with Clint Eastwood? Thank a poet

ragline

Jeffrey Brown: PBS: Newshour: The Life, Work of Poet Wislawa Szymborska

ragline

Judith Fitzgerald: The Globe and Mail: In Other Words: MuseFlash Thursday: Marty Gervais, Patrick Woodcock and so much more

ragline

Judith Fitzgerald: The Globe and Mail: In Other Words: World Exclusive: Introducing poet Paul Lisson

ragline

Alison Flood: The Guardian: Paulo Coelho calls on readers to pirate books

ragline

Alison Flood: The Guardian: Wislawa Szymborska, 'Mozart of poetry', dies aged 88

ragline

Alison Flood: The Guardian: Whoopensocker dictionary of American dialect completed after 50 years

ragline

Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Paramahansa Yogananda's Where Is There Love

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Autopsy in the Form of an Elegy by John Stone

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Bright Sun after Heavy Snow by Jane Kenyon

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Grecian Temples by George Bilgere

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: He Gets Around to Answering the Old Question by Miller Williams

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Misgivings by William Matthews

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: The Old Age of Nostalgia by Mark Strand

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: The Equipment Man's Wife by Jack Ridl

ragline

Adam Kirsch: The New York Review of Books: The New World of William Carlos Williams

ragline

Ted Kooser: American Life in Poetry: Column 359

ragline

Wesley McNair: The Portland Press Herald: Take Heart: A Conversation in Poetry

ragline

Luisetta Mudie: Radio Free Asia: Hangzhou Dissident Goes on Trial

ragline

David Orr: NPR Books: Wislawa Szymborska, Poet Of Gentle Irony, Dies At 88

ragline

Michael Rosen: The Guardian: Dear Mr. Gove: Michael Rosen's letter from a curious parent

ragline

Carol Rumens: The Guardian: Poem of the week: I Am Greatly Changed by Richard Price

ragline

Katherine Schulten: The New York Times: Poetry Pairing: 'Or'

ragline

The Brooklyn Rail: Four by Brett Price

ragline

The Brooklyn Rail: from We Are Here by Kristen Gallagher

ragline

The Brooklyn Rail: Nigerian Spammer by Adam Fitzgerald

ragline

The Brooklyn Rail: Two by Brendan Lorber

ragline

The Brooklyn Rail: Two by Laura Henriksen

ragline

The Christian Science Monitor: Two haikus

ragline

CounterPunch: Poets' Basement: Three by Jeff Shampnois

ragline

Granta: Don't Flinch

ragline

Guernica: Poetry: How I Wanted You to Find Me and What You Have in Common with God

ragline

Guernica: Poetry: [Tomorrow morning I will take a shower]

ragline

Huffington Post: The Weekend Poem: 'West And East' By Adonis

ragline

Morning Star: Well Versed: Go to sleep

ragline

Otago Times: Monday's poem

ragline

PBS: Newshour: Weekly Poem: 'haiku (failed)'

ragline

Portsmouth Herald News: Poem: My Grandpa Tangen

ragline

Portsmouth Herald News: Poem: On losing a friend

ragline

San Antonio Express-News: Poem: 'Portrait of the Artist as a Very Young Man'

ragline

Slate: "Movement"

ragline

The Sun Magazine: Poetry: Citizens Of A Broken City

ragline

Boulder Weekly: Reverend Friendly, street poet, dies at 76

ragline

Boulder Weekly: Writing a new ending for Boulder's chronically homeless

ragline

Saturday Gazette-Mail: W.Va. poet laureate Irene McKinney dies at 72

ragline

Haggard & Halloo: Geoff Stevens dies

ragline

The Salt Lake Tribune: Paul Swenson, editor, poet and mentor to Utah writers, dies

ragline

Los Angeles Times: Wislawa Szymborska dies at 88; Nobel-winning Polish poet

ragline

Associated Press: Poland's 1996 Nobel poet Szymborska dies at 88

ragline

The Hindu: 1923-2012--A poet's moorings

ragline

The New Yorker; Back Issues: Reading List: Wislawa Szymborska

ragline

The Washington Post: Wislawa Szymborska, a Nobel Prize-winning Polish poet, dies at 88

ragline

Slate: Wislawa Szymborska, 1923-2012: The Szymborska Poem Above My Desk

ragline

Los Angeles Times: Dorothea Tanning dies at 101; artist and poet married Max Ernst

ragline

The Guardian: Dorothea Tanning obituary

ragline

The Telegraph: Dorothea Tanning

ragline

The New York Times: Dorothea Tanning, Surrealist Painter, Dies at 101

Blog Entry Tape:

ragline

The Times Literary Supplement: Spare, enigmatic Lorine Niedecker

ragline

Tablet: St. Leonard's Passion

ragline

Winnipeg Free Press: Portrait of the artist: As an older man

ragline

Bangor Daily News: The rock steady voice of a former Maine poet laureate

ragline

The Vancouver Sun: Tess Gallagher: Poetry has a tender feel for the natural world

ragline

Tablet: Beyond Amichai

ragline

The Hindu: Two Jerusalem Poems

ragline

The Japan Times: Bold move into Tamura's cold verse

ragline

The Guardian: Library Poem by Julia Donaldson

ragline

The Telegraph: Carol Ann Duffy's poetry is demotic and immediate--and there's nothing wrong with that

ragline

Asia Society: Liu Xiaobo and Democracy in China

ragline

Los Angeles Times: Jacket Copy: Like that Chrysler Super Bowl ad with Clint Eastwood? Thank a poet

ragline

Jeffrey Brown: PBS: Newshour: The Life, Work of Poet Wislawa Szymborska

ragline

Judith Fitzgerald: The Globe and Mail: In Other Words: MuseFlash Thursday: Marty Gervais, Patrick Woodcock and so much more

ragline

Judith Fitzgerald: The Globe and Mail: In Other Words: World Exclusive: Introducing poet Paul Lisson

ragline

Alison Flood: The Guardian: Paulo Coelho calls on readers to pirate books

ragline

Alison Flood: The Guardian: Wislawa Szymborska, 'Mozart of poetry', dies aged 88

ragline

Alison Flood: The Guardian: Whoopensocker dictionary of American dialect completed after 50 years

ragline

Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Paramahansa Yogananda's Where Is There Love

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Autopsy in the Form of an Elegy by John Stone

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Bright Sun after Heavy Snow by Jane Kenyon

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Grecian Temples by George Bilgere

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: He Gets Around to Answering the Old Question by Miller Williams

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Misgivings by William Matthews

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: The Old Age of Nostalgia by Mark Strand

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: The Equipment Man's Wife by Jack Ridl

ragline

Adam Kirsch: The New York Review of Books: The New World of William Carlos Williams

ragline

Ted Kooser: American Life in Poetry: Column 359

ragline

Wesley McNair: The Portland Press Herald: Take Heart: A Conversation in Poetry

ragline

Luisetta Mudie: Radio Free Asia: Hangzhou Dissident Goes on Trial

ragline

David Orr: NPR Books: Wislawa Szymborska, Poet Of Gentle Irony, Dies At 88

ragline

Michael Rosen: The Guardian: Dear Mr. Gove: Michael Rosen's letter from a curious parent

ragline

Carol Rumens: The Guardian: Poem of the week: I Am Greatly Changed by Richard Price

ragline

Katherine Schulten: The New York Times: Poetry Pairing: 'Or'

ragline

The Brooklyn Rail: Four by Brett Price

ragline

The Brooklyn Rail: from We Are Here by Kristen Gallagher

ragline

The Brooklyn Rail: Nigerian Spammer by Adam Fitzgerald

ragline

The Brooklyn Rail: Two by Brendan Lorber

ragline

The Brooklyn Rail: Two by Laura Henriksen

ragline

The Christian Science Monitor: Two haikus

ragline

CounterPunch: Poets' Basement: Three by Jeff Shampnois

ragline

Granta: Don't Flinch

ragline

Guernica: Poetry: How I Wanted You to Find Me and What You Have in Common with God

ragline

Guernica: Poetry: [Tomorrow morning I will take a shower]

ragline

Huffington Post: The Weekend Poem: 'West And East' By Adonis

ragline

Morning Star: Well Versed: Go to sleep

ragline

Otago Times: Monday's poem

ragline

PBS: Newshour: Weekly Poem: 'haiku (failed)'

ragline

Portsmouth Herald News: Poem: My Grandpa Tangen

ragline

Portsmouth Herald News: Poem: On losing a friend

ragline

San Antonio Express-News: Poem: 'Portrait of the Artist as a Very Young Man'

ragline

Slate: "Movement"

ragline

The Sun Magazine: Poetry: Citizens Of A Broken City

ragline

Boulder Weekly: Reverend Friendly, street poet, dies at 76

ragline

Boulder Weekly: Writing a new ending for Boulder's chronically homeless

ragline

Saturday Gazette-Mail: W.Va. poet laureate Irene McKinney dies at 72

ragline

Haggard & Halloo: Geoff Stevens dies

ragline

The Salt Lake Tribune: Paul Swenson, editor, poet and mentor to Utah writers, dies

ragline

Los Angeles Times: Wislawa Szymborska dies at 88; Nobel-winning Polish poet

ragline

Associated Press: Poland's 1996 Nobel poet Szymborska dies at 88

ragline

The Hindu: 1923-2012--A poet's moorings

ragline

The New Yorker; Back Issues: Reading List: Wislawa Szymborska

ragline

The Washington Post: Wislawa Szymborska, a Nobel Prize-winning Polish poet, dies at 88

ragline

Slate: Wislawa Szymborska, 1923-2012: The Szymborska Poem Above My Desk

ragline

Los Angeles Times: Dorothea Tanning dies at 101; artist and poet married Max Ernst

ragline

The Guardian: Dorothea Tanning obituary

ragline

The Telegraph: Dorothea Tanning

ragline

The New York Times: Dorothea Tanning, Surrealist Painter, Dies at 101

February 7th forum announcement

2012-02-07T18:42:00.001-05:00

Dear Poetry Aficionados,

Poetry & Poets in Rags blog

Be sure to read the last two items we link to in this week's Poetry & Poets in Rags. They are in Poetic Obituaries. Last in alphabetical order in that section are Wislawa Szymborska and Dorothea Tanning. This is not to ignore the other obits, such as West Virginia's Poet Laureate Irene McKinney and others who have passed, but to draw your attention to that last section. In our middle section, Great Regulars, the passing of Wislawa Szymborska is also covered by Jeffrey Brown, Alison Flood, and David Orr.

We begin with a nicely done review of Margot Peters' book on Lorine Niedecker. The eleventh article in News at Eleven is about the Clint Eastwood commercial, which debuted during this Sunday's Superbowl. I'll let Carolyn Kellogg of the Los Angeles Times make the connection to poetry for you.

As always, not even the tip of the iceberg is covered by this announcement, so many fresh poems, reviews and other articles of interest and import to the poetry world. I'll let you get to your reading.

Thanks for clicking in.

Yours,
Rus

Our links:

IBPC: Poetry & Poets in Rags

Poetry & Poets in Rags blog

IBPC Home

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: The desolation of that final image,

2012-02-07T17:53:00.002-05:00

reinforced by the complex rhyme of "mending kit"/"nothing in it", was prompted by her [Lorine Niedecker's] recognition that the poem's "you"--her then lover Harold Hein--was willing enough to "carry/[her] fishpole", but not, in the end, to propose marriage. Later, she was to tell a friend who asked why she had married the alcoholic and uneducated Millen, "He's the only man who ever told me he loved me".

In her poems, the candour of such remarks was transmuted into the most subtle obliquity.

from The Times Literary Supplement: Spare, enigmatic Lorine Niedecker

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: What he [Leonard Cohen] had to say

2012-02-07T17:52:00.001-05:00

was poetry. He had started out as a poet, and his first public performances consisted of reciting verse in smoky, small Montreal coffee houses. He might as well have been in one when he stared into the distance in the way that poets sometimes do when they're reading out loud and began his soliloquy.

"I wrote this in a peeling room in the Chelsea Hotel, before I was rich and famous and they gave me well-painted rooms," he said. "I was coming off of amphetamines, and I was pursuing a blonde lady whom I met in a Nazi poster. And I was doing many things to attract her attention. I was lighting wax candles in the form of men and women. I was marrying the smoke of two cones of sandalwood." Then, he started playing another of his songs, "One of Us Cannot Be Wrong."

from Tablet: St. Leonard's Passion
then Winnipeg Free Press: Portrait of the artist: As an older man

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: That moment of energy which so

2012-02-07T17:51:00.001-05:00

many of us remember fondly from the 1960s as a bright, shining moment of our own creative and intellectual participation in something larger than us, [Baron] Wormser reminds us, was also a time of terrible emotional conflict. The narrator's minor league rock bands ("My Bands") and time served in school ("Missile," "Hebrew School") nudge the borderlands of wretchedness that was in a way the heart of what Buddy Holly, and the other musicians and poets mentioned in these pages, lifted people out of. It's what we measure the present imprisonment of American intellectual life against.

from Bangor Daily News: The rock steady voice of a former Maine poet laureate

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: [Tess Gallagher] said all poets

2012-02-07T17:50:00.004-05:00

must be survivors.

"When you meet a poet you can know instantly that here is somebody who is very ambidextrous, who has carried a really ardent vocation on top of everything else," she said.

But although it's not easy, poetry changes your existence.

"Poetry just infuses my life," Gallagher said. "It makes everything richer because your ability to pay attention is so sharpened. It's a way of seeing the world, and of being in the world, the attentiveness that poetry brings into your life."

from The Vancouver Sun: Tess Gallagher: Poetry has a tender feel for the natural world

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: Because I am a translator, I know that

2012-02-07T17:50:00.002-05:00

for poetry to cross language borders, it must have strong content and brilliant or at least surprising thoughts, not the province of all writers, even the very good ones. To stay at home with honor, poetry must touch a local nerve--be sensitive to both language and current affairs--which is a different thing. Since it may very well be true, as Charles Simic said in a famously negative 2007 New York Review of Books essay about Robert Creeley, that "there are not many poets, even among our best ones, who are likely to have more than eighty pages worth reading," this will be a brief journey among excerpts from what I consider excellent poems by poets you have probably never heard of.

from Tablet: Beyond Amichai

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: Meena Alexander

2012-02-07T17:49:00.003-05:00

Indian Hospice

Yesterday it rained so hard

from The Hindu: Two Jerusalem Poems

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: This may seem strange and chilly,

2012-02-07T17:48:00.004-05:00

but as Christopher Drake remarks in an admirable essay on [Ryuichi] Tamura, the most powerful words the poet ever heard were those that announced the beginning of the Pacific war, and, later, the conclusion of it when Japan surrendered.

The prospect is bleak in the aftermath of war, but the poet sees it clearly:

In your sightless imagination
this world is a wilderness for hunting
where you are a hunter in winter
always trying to close in on a single heart

from The Japan Times: Bold move into Tamura's cold verse

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: Library Poem

2012-02-07T17:48:00.002-05:00

by Julia Donaldson

from The Guardian: Library Poem by Julia Donaldson

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: Speaking about [Carol Ann] Duffy,

2012-02-07T17:47:00.001-05:00

[Geoffrey] Hill, a professor of poetry at Oxford, says: "for the common good she is willing to have quoted several lines from a poem by herself "--it was one of her early pieces quoted in a Guardian interview--"that could easily be mistaken for a first effort by one of the young people she wishes to encourage." That sounds like approval to me, even if guarded approval.

from The Telegraph: Carol Ann Duffy's poetry is demotic and immediate--and there's nothing wrong with that

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: In 2010, Liu [Xiaobo] became the first

2012-02-07T17:46:00.003-05:00

Chinese citizen to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his political activism.

[Perry] Link's translation of Liu's writing not only reveals the many sides of Liu's personality and political ideology, but also provides a glimpse into contemporary Chinese society and views on democracy in the country.

"The Internet," Link said, "is the first medium in the history of the Communist Party in China that the party has not been able to figure out how to control."

from Asia Society: Liu Xiaobo and Democracy in China

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven (Back Page): But one thing I do know is

2012-02-07T17:46:00.001-05:00

that of the three people credited as copywriters on the powerful Chrysler advertisement above, the one featuring Clint Eastwood that aired for the first time during Sunday's Super Bowl, one is poet Matthew Dickman.

from Los Angeles Times: Jacket Copy: Like that Chrysler Super Bowl ad with Clint Eastwood? Thank a poet

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Taking our world, and not turning

2012-02-07T17:24:00.002-05:00

it upside down, but just tilting the angle ever so slightly is what she does. So she's both familar and strange to us in every poem, and people respond to that. [--Clare Cavanaugh]

from Jeffrey Brown: PBS: Newshour: The Life, Work of Poet Wislawa Szymborska

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Windsor's recently installed and justifiably

2012-02-07T17:23:00.002-05:00

celebrated poet laureate (not to mention top-notch snap-shooter and award-winning journalist), C. H. (Marty) Gervais, sends along an extraordinary 'graph he grants permission to reprint for you, Dear IOWerZ and Rez Reg Readers:

from Judith Fitzgerald: The Globe and Mail: In Other Words: MuseFlash Thursday: Marty Gervais, Patrick Woodcock and so much more

~~~~~~~~~~~

[by Paul Lisson]

Awaiting the arrival of the butcher

O, But what shall I tell you? What is there worth being told?

from Judith Fitzgerald: The Globe and Mail: In Other Words: World Exclusive: Introducing poet Paul Lisson

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: [Paul] Coelho has long been a supporter

2012-02-07T17:23:00.001-05:00

of illegal downloads of his writing, ever since a pirated Russian edition of The Alchemist was posted online in 1999 and, far from damaging sales in the country, sent them soaring to a million copies by 2002 and more than 12m today. His latest move goes a step further, however, joining in with a new programme on The Pirate Bay and exhorting readers to download all his work for free.

from Alison Flood: The Guardian: Paulo Coelho calls on readers to pirate books

~~~~~~~~~~~

Described by the Nobel committee as the "Mozart of poetry" but with "something of the fury of Beethoven"--and by an Italian newspaper as the "Greta Garbo of World Poetry"--[Wislawa] Szymborska died in her sleep from lung cancer, said her personal secretary Michal Rusinek.

Speaking on Wednesday, Poland's president Bronislaw Komorowski called her the country's "guardian spirit". Her poems "were brilliant advice, through which the world became more understandable", he said; they showed the importance of finding value "in the daily bustle".

from Alison Flood: The Guardian: Wislawa Szymborska, 'Mozart of poetry', dies aged 88

~~~~~~~~~~~

Some of [Joan Houston] Hall's favourite terms from the fifth volume, which runs to over 1,200 pages, include whoopensocker (something extraordinary of its kind, especially a large or strong drink, chiefly used in Wisconsin), willywags (a New England term for an area with tangled underbrush), upscuddle (southern Appalachian term for a noisy quarrel), strubbly (Pennsylvania German term for untidy) and swivet (a term for a state of anxiety from the South).

from Alison Flood: The Guardian: Whoopensocker dictionary of American dialect completed after 50 years

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: The chanter is addressing God as

2012-02-07T17:22:00.001-05:00

"Divine Mother." The chant opens with the truth, "In this world, Mother,/No one can love me./In this world they do not know how to love me." This simple statement of fact is both cause for alarm but ultimately cause for joy, after the dilemma is settled. The sadness of not being loved cannot be rendered into joy on the worldly plane, because human beings simply do not know how to love one another, as the chant proclaims.

from Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Paramahansa Yogananda's Where Is There Love

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Autopsy in the Form of an Elegy

2012-02-07T17:21:00.002-05:00

by John Stone

In the chest

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Autopsy in the Form of an Elegy by John Stone

~~~~~~~~~~~

Bright Sun after Heavy Snow
by Jane Kenyon

A ledge of ice slides from the eaves,

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Bright Sun after Heavy Snow by Jane Kenyon

~~~~~~~~~~~

Grecian Temples
by George Bilgere

Because I'm getting pretty gray at the temples,

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Grecian Temples by George Bilgere

~~~~~~~~~~~

He Gets Around to Answering the Old Question
by Miller Williams

He doesn't see as well as he thinks he remembers.

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: He Gets Around to Answering the Old Question by Miller Williams

~~~~~~~~~~~

Misgivings
by William Matthews

"Perhaps you'll tire of me," muses

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Misgivings by William Matthews

~~~~~~~~~~~

The Old Age of Nostalgia
by Mark Strand

Those hours given over to basking in the glow of an imagined

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: The Old Age of Nostalgia by Mark Strand

~~~~~~~~~~~

The Equipment Man's Wife
by Jack Ridl

seldom goes to a game, is used

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: The Equipment Man's Wife by Jack Ridl

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: A chapter of [William Carlos] Williams's

2012-02-07T17:21:00.001-05:00

Autobiography is titled "The Waste Land," but it contains only one paragraph about Eliot's poem: "Our work staggered to a halt for a moment under the blast of Eliot's genius which gave the poem back to the academics. We did not know how to answer him." Williams, who went directly from high school to medical school, was put at a disadvantage by Eliot's show of erudition. With American avant-garde writers generally, Williams claims, "literary allusions . . . were unknown to us.

from Adam Kirsch: The New York Review of Books: The New World of William Carlos Williams

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: At a time when a relationship is

2012-02-07T17:20:00.002-05:00

falling apart, sometimes the news of its failure doesn't come out of a mouth but from gestures. Claudia Emerson, who lives in Virginia, here captures a telling moment.

Eight Ball

from Ted Kooser: American Life in Poetry: Column 359

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: The late Philip Booth of Castine

2012-02-07T17:20:00.001-05:00

had his own way with free verse, creating his music from the repetition of words and their placement on the page. Today's poem, about the realities of old age, provides a striking example.

Old

from Wesley McNair: The Portland Press Herald: Take Heart: A Conversation in Poetry

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Zhu [Yufu] was formally detained by

2012-02-07T17:19:00.002-05:00

Hangzhou police last March after he posted his poem, titled "It Is Time" online.

"It is time, people of China! It is time," the poem read. "The square belongs to us all; our feet are our own."

"It is time to use our feet to go to the square and to make a choice . . . We should use our choices to decide the future of China," it said.

Zhu, 60, is a veteran activist who first caught the attention of the authorities during the Democracy Wall movement of 1978.

from Luisetta Mudie: Radio Free Asia: Hangzhou Dissident Goes on Trial

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: [Wislawa] Szymborska is an ironist.

2012-02-07T17:19:00.001-05:00

But in her work, irony becomes playful, almost whimsical. She thinks of the poet as an acrobat who moves, as she puts it, with "laborious ease, with patient agility, with calculated inspiration."

Szymborska's poems generally focus on everyday subjects or situations, and her tone stays firmly in the middle ground. She doesn't rant; she calmly assesses.

from David Orr: NPR Books: Wislawa Szymborska, Poet Of Gentle Irony, Dies At 88

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: My, aren't you busy!

2012-02-07T17:18:00.002-05:00

If you're not busying about with Suffolk selling off a primary school, you're busying about in Haringey turning a school that doesn't want it, into an academy. I'm a parent of two school-age children--and several older ones--and like you, I visit a lot of schools. Imagine my surprise to hear that the new curriculum we're all waiting for is going to be delayed by a whole year.

from Michael Rosen: The Guardian: Dear Mr. Gove: Michael Rosen's letter from a curious parent

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: The encounter in the poem occurs,

2012-02-07T17:18:00.001-05:00

as in the novel, in the ruined gardens of Satis House, but the setting is revealed only in the seventh and ninth stanzas. The work's focus is the dialogue, cut up and expanded by silence to register maximum intensity and difficulty. In the novel, the dialogue flows smoothly. This, of course, is typical of 19th-century realist fiction: speech appears lifelike, but it's life with the pauses and repetitions edited out. [Richard] Price has translated the conversation into its imaginary original.

from Carol Rumens: The Guardian: Poem of the week: I Am Greatly Changed by Richard Price

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: This week's Poetry Pairing matches

2012-02-07T17:16:00.000-05:00

Thomas Sayers Ellis's "Or," with a 2011 video and article from the "Race Remixed" series, "In Strangers' Glances at Family, Tensions Linger."

from Katherine Schulten: The New York Times: Poetry Pairing: 'Or'

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: by Brett Price

2012-02-07T17:13:00.007-05:00

Cleats

every second, an archival print

from The Brooklyn Rail: Four by Brett Price

~~~~~~~~~~~

from We Are Here

by Kristen Gallagher

we're facing this way--

from The Brooklyn Rail: from We Are Here by Kristen Gallagher

~~~~~~~~~~~

Nigerian Spammer

by Adam Fitzgerald

A boy in jockstraps is a joy forever

from The Brooklyn Rail: Nigerian Spammer by Adam Fitzgerald

~~~~~~~~~~~

by Brendan Lorber

This is what your ad will look like
for James Sherry

from The Brooklyn Rail: Two by Brendan Lorber

~~~~~~~~~~~

by Laura Henriksen

First Summer Poem

When pronounced, the feeling and

from The Brooklyn Rail: Two by Laura Henriksen

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: [by Karen Kenyon]

2012-02-07T17:12:00.003-05:00

Just like new Spring snow,

from The Christian Science Monitor: Two haikus

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Big Bang Theory

2012-02-07T17:12:00.002-05:00

by Jeff Shampnois

To the chick, the awakening impulse

from CounterPunch: Poets' Basement: Three by Jeff Shampnois

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Adrienne Rich

2012-02-07T17:11:00.002-05:00

Don't Flinch

from Granta: Don't Flinch

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: By Sarah Carson

2012-02-07T17:10:00.003-05:00

January 2012

How I Wanted You to Find Me

Last night when you didn't turn up I snapped my timing belt and

from Guernica: Poetry: How I Wanted You to Find Me and What You Have in Common with God

~~~~~~~~~~~

By Valerio Magrelli, translated from the Italian by Adam Palumbo January 2012

Tomorrow morning I will take a shower,

from Guernica: Poetry: [Tomorrow morning I will take a shower]

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: This week we've picked a poem

2012-02-07T17:09:00.002-05:00

by the man known as the greatest living poet of the Arab world--Ali Ahmad Said Asbar, better known by his pen name Adonis.

from Huffington Post: The Weekend Poem: 'West And East' By Adonis

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: by Angela Croft

2012-02-07T17:07:00.004-05:00

Don't be afraid

from Morning Star: Well Versed: Go to sleep

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: On a night like this--

2012-02-07T17:07:00.001-05:00

Ruth Arnison

Laughter scuttles and shuffles across the streets.

from Otago Times: Monday's poem

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: By Nick Flynn

2012-02-07T17:06:00.005-05:00

The thin thread that holds us here, tethered/or maybe tied, together,

from PBS: Newshour: Weekly Poem: 'haiku (failed)'

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: By [seventh grader]

2012-02-07T17:06:00.002-05:00

Laura Clementson

I love my grandpa

from Portsmouth Herald News: Poem: My Grandpa Tangen

~~~~~~~~~~~

By Val Battenburg

I'm losing a friend,

from Portsmouth Herald News: Poem: On losing a friend

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: [by Bonnie Lyons]

2012-02-07T17:05:00.002-05:00

Portrait of the Artist as a Very Young Man

No, no, no

from San Antonio Express-News: Poem: 'Portrait of the Artist as a Very Young Man'

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: "Movement"

2012-02-07T17:04:00.004-05:00

By Wyn Cooper

from Slate: "Movement"

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Citizens Of A Broken City

2012-02-07T17:04:00.002-05:00

by Alison Luterman

She's shuffling around the lake in flip-flops,

from The Sun Magazine: Poetry: Citizens Of A Broken City

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: Laverne Lobdell, the heavily bearded,

2012-02-07T17:00:00.004-05:00

silver-tongued street poet known as Reverend Friendly, who haunted Boulder's open mics for decades, died on Jan. 7.

from Boulder Weekly: Reverend Friendly, street poet, dies at 76
then Boulder Weekly: Writing a new ending for Boulder's chronically homeless

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: [Irene] McKinney was named West Virginia's

2012-02-07T17:00:00.002-05:00

poet laureate by then-Gov. Gaston Caperton. In a 2009 interview with West Virginia Public Broadcasting, she said she didn't subscribe to the idea that a poet laureate should have to do a lot besides be a good poet.

"I like working with younger writers one on one, having someone come to my house with their manuscript in their hands, spending some hours drinking coffee with them, trying to convey what I know of the craft by looking closely at what they've written, pointing out what they've done well so that they can do it again," she said. "I tell them about books I love and why and read poems out loud so we can hear how it's done together."

During the last three years of her life, McKinney created and directed a Master of Fine Arts Program in creative writing at West Virginia Wesleyan.

from Saturday Gazette-Mail: W.Va. poet laureate Irene McKinney dies at 72

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: [Geoff Stevens] also began a long interest

2012-02-07T16:59:00.005-05:00

in reading poetry in public. 1976 saw the inception of his own poetry magazine, Purple Patch, which passed its 100th edition in June 2001 and celebrated its 30th year in 2006. Other magazines he has edited are Purple Pastiche (poetry and art), S-Fest Ltd. (U.K. Editor of U.S.Lit mag.), Micropress Midlands Poetry, and one guest issue of South magazine. He was a founder member of Spouting Forth poetry performance and publication group in the 90′s and, with Brendan Hawthorne, started the Poetry Wednesbury group of poets in 2002

Welsomesville

from Haggard & Halloo: Geoff Stevens dies

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: At the [Utah Holiday] magazine,

2012-02-07T16:59:00.002-05:00

he [Paul Swenson] helped craft investigative journalism and critical pieces that brought the publication local renown and even national attention.

"He was responsible for getting so many great Utah writers started in the field," said Phyllis Barber, author of seven books, who worked with Swenson at the monthly magazine during its 1970s heyday. "He was always incredibly encouraging, focusing in on great turns of phrase in everyone's writing, even if he didn't like your whole piece."

from The Salt Lake Tribune: Paul Swenson, editor, poet and mentor to Utah writers, dies

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: During a five-decade career, Polish poet

2012-02-07T16:58:00.003-05:00

Wislawa Szymborska had so rarely appeared in public that a newspaper dubbed her the "Greta Garbo of poetry" after the notoriously private actress.

But in 1996, Poland's most reticent literary icon was forced to open her door to the world: She had won the Nobel Prize in literature and the world was clamoring for her reaction.

from Los Angeles Times: Wislawa Szymborska dies at 88; Nobel-winning Polish poet
then Associated Press: Poland's 1996 Nobel poet Szymborska dies at 88
then The Hindu: 1923-2012--A poet's moorings
then The New Yorker; Back Issues: Reading List: Wislawa Szymborska
then The Washington Post: Wislawa Szymborska, a Nobel Prize-winning Polish poet, dies at 88
then Slate: Wislawa Szymborska, 1923-2012: The Szymborska Poem Above My Desk

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: In her late 80s, [Dorothea] Tanning found

2012-02-07T16:57:00.000-05:00

a new outlet in poetry. She jokingly referred to herself as "the oldest living emerging poet."

By 90, she had published poems in the Paris Review and won a place in "Best American Poems of 2000." She later wrote two well-reviewed volumes of poetry, "A Table of Content" (2004) and "Coming to That," which the New Yorker called one of the best books of 2011.

In 1994, Tanning created and endowed the Wallace Stevens Award, which each year grants $100,000 to an American poet.

from Los Angeles Times: Dorothea Tanning dies at 101; artist and poet married Max Ernst
then The Guardian: Dorothea Tanning obituary
then The Telegraph: Dorothea Tanning
then The New York Times: Dorothea Tanning, Surrealist Painter, Dies at 101

~~~~~~~~~~~

January 31st Poetic Ticker Clicking

2012-01-31T22:50:00.001-05:00

News Article Tape:

ragline

Daily Mail: Poet Laureate compared to Mills & Boon romance writers in stinging attack by rival

ragline

The Guardian: Carol Ann Duffy and Geoffrey Hill: truly poetic heavyweights

ragline

The Associated Press: Another Chinese dissident on trial for subversion

ragline

International Herald Tribune: Rendezvous: Is It Poetry, Subversion or Both?

ragline

The Guardian: Adonis: a life in writing

ragline

Culture Map Austin: A self-deprecating Poet Laureate? Mark Strand on his new collection and poets' former pop-star status

ragline

Big Think: Woman In Pursuit: Eavan Boland, Yeats, and Irish Tradition

ragline

The Sydney Morning Herald: Australian Poetry Since 1788

ragline

The Guardian: The Complete Poems by Philip Larkin, edited by Archie Burnett--review

ragline

London Evening Standard: Philip Larkin: The Complete Poems--review

ragline

China Radio International: Battle of Words over the Future of Poetry

ragline

Globe and Mail: Around the world in 50 poets

ragline

The New York Times: Excerpts: Poems From 'Left-handed' by Jonathan Galassi

ragline

Shoot: Poems Come to Life In Artful Interpretations From motion504

ragline

Bryan Appleyard: from The Sunday Times: 4Chan and Anonymous

ragline

Charles Bainbridge: The Guardian: Poetry: in brief

ragline

Sarah Crown: The Guardian: How we made: Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler on The Gruffalo

ragline

Judith Fitzgerald: The Globe and Mail: In Other Words: James Earl Jones v. Chris Walken: A poetic Poe-down

ragline

Judith Fitzgerald: The Globe and Mail: In Other Words: Kudos to Fern G. Z. Carr, poet lawyer

ragline

Judith Fitzgerald: The Globe and Mail: This just in . . . Carol Ann Duffy v. Sir Geoffrey Hill

ragline

Judith Fitzgerald: The Globe and Mail: In Other Words: Wrap-up Wednesday

ragline

Alison Flood: The Guardian: Battle of the authors' sexes continues

ragline

Alison Flood: The Guardian: Carol Ann Duffy is 'wrong' about poetry, says Geoffrey Hill

ragline

Alison Flood: The Guardian: Jonathan Franzen warns ebooks are corroding values

ragline

Alison Flood: The Guardian: Roald Dahl and CS Lewis among writers revealed to have refused honours

ragline

Alison Flood: The Guardian: Vladimir Putin plans 100-book Russian canon all students must read

ragline

Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Poole's The Bible

ragline

Hillel Italie: Associated Press: Eugenides, Lethem among critics' awards nominees

ragline

Hillel Italie: Associated Press: New library e-catalogs offer expanded selection

ragline

Mary Karr: The Days of Yore: Mary Karr

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: The Beautiful Sandwich by Brad Ricca

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Don't Look Back by Kay Ryan

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Going to Heaven by Emily Dickinson

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Letter Home by Ellen Steinbaum

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: The Weight by Linda Gregg

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Winter Is the Best Time by David Budbill

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Winter Twilight by Anne Porter

ragline

Ted Kooser: American Life in Poetry: Column 358

ragline

Michael Lista: National Post: On Poetry: The poet of our age

ragline

Charles McGrath: The New York Times: Contradictions of the Heart

ragline

Wesley McNair: The Portland Press Herald: Take Heart: A Conversation in Poetry

ragline

Ande Mlinko: Los Angeles Review of Books: The Scholar's Art

ragline

Meghan O'Rourke: The Guardian: Grief--the great universal

ragline

Michael Rosen: The Guardian: Teens on TV: are they talking your language?

ragline

Carol Rumens: The Guardian: Poem of the week: Francesca of Rimini by Lord Byron

ragline

Katherine Schulten: The New York Times: Poetry Pairing: 'Which One'

ragline

The Caravan: Poetry: Homeless, A Secret Incident, Springtime Sea and The Depth of a Landscape 2

ragline

The Christian Science Monitor: Me and My Big Sister

ragline

CounterPunch: Poets' Basement: Beatty, Orloski and Davies

ragline

Granta: Supernovae

ragline

The Guardian: The Saturday poem: My Life

ragline

Huffington Post: The Weekend Poem: 'A Boat Beneath A Sunny Sky' By Lewis Carroll

ragline

Morning Star: Well Versed: A Tory in Avalon

ragline

NPR: Newspoet: Tracy K. Smith Writes The Day In Verse

ragline

The Oregonian: Poetry: Frisking the Cobwebs

ragline

PBS: Newshour: In 'Money Shot,' Poet Armantrout Reacts to Financial Crisis in Verse

ragline

PBS: Newshour: Weekly Poem: 'Around'

ragline

Post-Bulletin: Poem: A poem by The Anonymous Political Poet

ragline

Powells: Review-A-Day: Tribute and Farewell

ragline

San Antonio Express-News: Poem: 'Accustomed to Dark'

ragline

The Times Literary Supplement: Poem of the Week: Tears

ragline

Willamette Week: The Lost Poet: Remembering Marty Christensen

ragline

Oregon ArtsWatch: 'My Flashlight Was Attacked by Bats': Farewell to poet Marty Christensen

ragline

The Guardian: Theodore Enslin obituary

ragline

Famous Urdu poet Mazhar Imam passes away

ragline

Dutch News: Doeschka Meijsing dies at 64

ragline

The Prague Post: Romani Poet Vlado Oláh (1947-2012)

ragline

Iowa City Press-Citizen: Ronda Strouble Scott, 50

Blog Entry Tape:

ragline

Daily Mail: Poet Laureate compared to Mills & Boon romance writers in stinging attack by rival

ragline

The Guardian: Carol Ann Duffy and Geoffrey Hill: truly poetic heavyweights

ragline

The Associated Press: Another Chinese dissident on trial for subversion

ragline

International Herald Tribune: Rendezvous: Is It Poetry, Subversion or Both?

ragline

The Guardian: Adonis: a life in writing

ragline

Culture Map Austin: A self-deprecating Poet Laureate? Mark Strand on his new collection and poets' former pop-star status

ragline

Big Think: Woman In Pursuit: Eavan Boland, Yeats, and Irish Tradition

ragline

The Sydney Morning Herald: Australian Poetry Since 1788

ragline

The Guardian: The Complete Poems by Philip Larkin, edited by Archie Burnett--review

ragline

London Evening Standard: Philip Larkin: The Complete Poems--review

ragline

China Radio International: Battle of Words over the Future of Poetry

ragline

Globe and Mail: Around the world in 50 poets

ragline

The New York Times: Excerpts: Poems From 'Left-handed' by Jonathan Galassi

ragline

Shoot: Poems Come to Life In Artful Interpretations From motion504

ragline

Bryan Appleyard: from The Sunday Times: 4Chan and Anonymous

ragline

Charles Bainbridge: The Guardian: Poetry: in brief

ragline

Sarah Crown: The Guardian: How we made: Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler on The Gruffalo

ragline

Judith Fitzgerald: The Globe and Mail: In Other Words: James Earl Jones v. Chris Walken: A poetic Poe-down

ragline

Judith Fitzgerald: The Globe and Mail: In Other Words: Kudos to Fern G. Z. Carr, poet lawyer

ragline

Judith Fitzgerald: The Globe and Mail: This just in . . . Carol Ann Duffy v. Sir Geoffrey Hill

ragline

Judith Fitzgerald: The Globe and Mail: In Other Words: Wrap-up Wednesday

ragline

Alison Flood: The Guardian: Battle of the authors' sexes continues

ragline

Alison Flood: The Guardian: Carol Ann Duffy is 'wrong' about poetry, says Geoffrey Hill

ragline

Alison Flood: The Guardian: Jonathan Franzen warns ebooks are corroding values

ragline

Alison Flood: The Guardian: Roald Dahl and CS Lewis among writers revealed to have refused honours

ragline

Alison Flood: The Guardian: Vladimir Putin plans 100-book Russian canon all students must read

ragline

Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Poole's The Bible

ragline

Hillel Italie: Associated Press: Eugenides, Lethem among critics' awards nominees

ragline

Hillel Italie: Associated Press: New library e-catalogs offer expanded selection

ragline

Mary Karr: The Days of Yore: Mary Karr

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: The Beautiful Sandwich by Brad Ricca

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Don't Look Back by Kay Ryan

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Going to Heaven by Emily Dickinson

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Letter Home by Ellen Steinbaum

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: The Weight by Linda Gregg

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Winter Is the Best Time by David Budbill

ragline

Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Winter Twilight by Anne Porter

ragline

Ted Kooser: American Life in Poetry: Column 358

ragline

Michael Lista: National Post: On Poetry: The poet of our age

ragline

Charles McGrath: The New York Times: Contradictions of the Heart

ragline

Wesley McNair: The Portland Press Herald: Take Heart: A Conversation in Poetry

ragline

Ande Mlinko: Los Angeles Review of Books: The Scholar's Art

ragline

Meghan O'Rourke: The Guardian: Grief--the great universal

ragline

Michael Rosen: The Guardian: Teens on TV: are they talking your language?

ragline

Carol Rumens: The Guardian: Poem of the week: Francesca of Rimini by Lord Byron

ragline

Katherine Schulten: The New York Times: Poetry Pairing: 'Which One'

ragline

The Caravan: Poetry: Homeless, A Secret Incident, Springtime Sea and The Depth of a Landscape 2

ragline

The Christian Science Monitor: Me and My Big Sister

ragline

CounterPunch: Poets' Basement: Beatty, Orloski and Davies

ragline

Granta: Supernovae

ragline

The Guardian: The Saturday poem: My Life

ragline

Huffington Post: The Weekend Poem: 'A Boat Beneath A Sunny Sky' By Lewis Carroll

ragline

Morning Star: Well Versed: A Tory in Avalon

ragline

NPR: Newspoet: Tracy K. Smith Writes The Day In Verse

ragline

The Oregonian: Poetry: Frisking the Cobwebs

ragline

PBS: Newshour: In 'Money Shot,' Poet Armantrout Reacts to Financial Crisis in Verse

ragline

PBS: Newshour: Weekly Poem: 'Around'

ragline

Post-Bulletin: Poem: A poem by The Anonymous Political Poet

ragline

Powells: Review-A-Day: Tribute and Farewell

ragline

San Antonio Express-News: Poem: 'Accustomed to Dark'

ragline

The Times Literary Supplement: Poem of the Week: Tears

ragline

Willamette Week: The Lost Poet: Remembering Marty Christensen

ragline

Oregon ArtsWatch: 'My Flashlight Was Attacked by Bats': Farewell to poet Marty Christensen

ragline

The Guardian: Theodore Enslin obituary

ragline

Famous Urdu poet Mazhar Imam passes away

ragline

Dutch News: Doeschka Meijsing dies at 64

ragline

The Prague Post: Romani Poet Vlado Oláh (1947-2012)

ragline

Iowa City Press-Citizen: Ronda Strouble Scott, 50

January 31st forum announcement

2012-01-31T19:25:00.004-05:00

Dear Poetry Aficionados,

Poetry & Poets in Rags blog

We have such a variety of topics this week, and our Great Regulars section is packed with more articles than most weeks. This is because a larger number than usual of our Great Regulars put articles out, but also, many of them, such as Judith Fitzgerald, Alison Flood, Hillel Italie, and Garrison Keillor have multiple articles. Plus, two stories that are covered inside Great Regulars, are also covered outside. The Oregonian brings us a poem by Marty Christensen, who is also to be found in our Poetic Obituaries section. And Great Regulars Alison Flood and Judith Fitzgerald both cover our first story in News at Eleven, the lead story of the week. A new poetry war is brewing. Geoffrey Hill, the Oxford University Professor of Poetry, has fired the first shot at the UK's Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. That Canadian Judith Fitzgerald has thown a punch, makes it a global confrontation.

I'll let you get to your reading. Thanks for clicking in.

Yours,
Rus

Our links:

IBPC: Poetry & Poets in Rags

Poetry & Poets in Rags blog

IBPC Home

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: A remarkable literary spat has erupted

2012-01-31T19:06:00.005-05:00

with the Oxford Professor of Poetry comparing the work of the Poet Laureate to Mills & Boon.

In a lecture entitled Poetry, Policing and Public Order, Sir Geoffrey Hill launched an attack on Carol Ann Duffy for her eagerness to 'democratise' poetry.

Duffy has attracted the ire of traditionalists by suggesting communication by text messages and social networks were actually helping children develop poetry skills.

from Daily Mail: Poet Laureate compared to Mills & Boon romance writers in stinging attack by rival
then The Guardian: Carol Ann Duffy and Geoffrey Hill: truly poetic heavyweights

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: Prosecutors said "It's Time" was meant

2012-01-31T19:06:00.002-05:00

to encourage Chinese to stage their own anti-government protests, Li [Dunyong] said. He said that Zhu [Yufu] denied the charges and denied posting the poem to any public online forum. He said he only shared it with friends.

Li said Zhu insisted the poem expressed his personal desire for freedom and democracy but that he never organized any actual protests. Li noted that the poem didn't specify any meeting time or place.

"It was meant to express his yearning for democracy," Li said.

from The Associated Press: Another Chinese dissident on trial for subversion
then International Herald Tribune: Rendezvous: Is It Poetry, Subversion or Both?

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: Explaining his view of Arab culture

2012-01-31T19:04:00.003-05:00

as extinct, he [Adonis] says: "What is civilisation? It's the creation of something new, like a painting. A people that no longer creates becomes a consumer of the products of others. That's what I mean by the Arabs being finished--not as a people, but as a creative presence."

Adonis holds no hope that poetry can change society. To do that, "you have to change its structures--family, education, politics. That's work art cannot do".

from The Guardian: Adonis: a life in writing

~~~~~~~~~~~