Poetry News:

1. — I love reworking, I love editing, love love love revision, revision, revision, revision. [not safe for work] —
2. — A poet reconciling verse and living —
3. — Mike Watt, Lee Ranaldo, more set James Joyce to music —
4. — Karen S. Williams June 30 Poetry Workshop, Reading and Booksigning - Open to the Public [Detroit: WCCC campus on the East Side] —
5. — Report: 2 million artists in US, many struggling —
6. — So far, Ostriker sounds the same yearning note that Cobain does elsewhere in the journals —
7. — A new survey says men are more likely than women to share their creative works online, even though both sexes participate in creative activities at roughly equal rates —

LOL I think if Persephone was a guy who was kidnapped by a big powerful God, then male-Persephone’s difficulties would be looked upon as a “heroic journey” rather than victimhood. Joseph Campbell stuff was 20 years ago for me (ask me about the Harmonic Convergence! haha) so let me know if I have this correct. Separation, initiation/ordeal, coming back — that’s the 3 parts of the journey right?

I was thinking about all this when I revisited How to trivialise women’s poetry by Eva Salzman:

“Male poets grappling with life and death issues in their writing are dragon-slayers. Women embarked on such odysseys are rarely granted similarly heroic status. Instead, they’re victims, a less noble assignation which handily renders them more vulnerable to any criticism embedded with ulterior motives, and more susceptible to being undervalued and misunderstood, except in the context of a tragedy and/or their role as mother. Is this an avoidance of any serious examination of Plath’s work? Sadly this lack of critical engagement is how most women poets are viewed, or are not viewed, as is more the case. It’s no doubt naïve to want ability and talent to be the king-makers’ main criteria.”

(Yes I’m still thinking about Pluto and Plath and that Gurlesque article from yesterday and my comments about it and Plath’s “Tulips” — that poem where it is wintertime and the country of health is far far away and springtime Tulips are oppressive.)

If you can spare some prayers for my father-in-law that would be great thank you.

Poetry News:

1. — Anonymous Greeting-Card Writers Put Their Heart Into Their Work —
2. — May Day was never the same after Allen Ginsberg’s 1965 visit to Prague —
3. — Use poetry in the workplace, says arts conference speaker —
4. — Poet fined for insulting Mexican flag, calls ruling threat to free speech
   —
5. — After 50 Years, Will Quality Management Shoot Down minnesota review? —
6. — Inkster author publishes book of poetry —
7. — ‘Poem’ teenager cleared of murder —

Poetry News:

1. — You’re saying to the world, this is how I want to be read, this is how I want to be seen, and those are hard decisions to make —
2. — Poetry in Motion, Thanks to YouTube —
3. — The 2007 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes were awarded Friday evening, April 25, 2008, at UCLA’s Royce Hall —
4. — Manitoba Authors Honoured at Manitoba Book Awards —
5. — Gioia’s Poetry Set to Music as Hudson Review Turns 60 —
6. — It’s time for difficult writing to step up —
7. — Elegy for a Scarred Shoulder will debut May 1, 2008 at free reading and booksigning at 7:00 pm in Kalman Auditorium at Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center, 18101 Oakwood Blvd in Dearborn, Michigan —
8. — A Spring Bouquet of Poetry —
9. — Nuyorican Poets Cafe celebrates 35 years of odes —
10. — He currently writes for the New York Review of Books and is Poetry Editor of the Paris Review. He answered your questions on the state of poetry today. [links to MP3] —
11. — Fifteen months in India in the early 1960s had a lasting influence on Allen Ginsberg. —
12. — The metrical pattern, with its short, tumbling line, is sometimes known as “skeltonics” —
13. — Groundbreaking Book: Ariel, by Sylvia Plath —
14. — Cinderella Schools for Writers —
15. — Former beat movement member Gary Snyder wins $100,000 poetry prize —

Twelve Suggestions for Dealing with the Tibetan Situation, by Some Chinese Intellectuals

Ach, my appt at the pain clinic got moved back a week, due to a conference. You’d think a pain clinic consultation would be zippy.

How to be a jerk
1. Read a lukewarm review of your book on Amazon.
2. Explain to reader how she is mistaken.
3. Encourage deletion of reader’s review.
4. Have friends / fellow authors harass reviewer?
5. Have Private Investigator dig up personal information on reviewer. (?!)
6. There is no #6.
7. Amazon bans the reviewer.
8. Profit?
(there’s a boycott amazon group at Facebook BTW.)
And Writers call for 1 May Amazon, eBay boycott
…RSS feed backlog.