Poetry Hut Blog

Poetry News:

1. — 2008 National Book Award Nominees —
2. — The League’s press release states that “only a handful of large publishers are receiving significant benefits,” and that “writers and the small presses that publish most Canadian culture receive virtually nothing from the system.” —
3. — From carnival rides to Beatles tunes, Pacific University Professor Doyle Walls distills life into poetry —
4. — Tate’s way of following his deeply held agrarian beliefs was, ironically, to have a family of tenant farmers tend the land around his Clarksville home, Benfolly —
5. — IU’s new Creative Writing, African American and African Diaspora dual degree first in the nation —
6. — Mary Ann Hoberman Named Children’s Poet Laureate —
7. — Blount’s speech is entitled, “Through Is Thoroughly Throughsome, Go Is Wide Open, and Wince Makes You Wince: On the Non-Arbitrariness of Words.” It is related to his forthcoming book, Alphabet Juice: The Energies, Gists and Spirits of Letters, Words and Combinations Thereof; Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips and Secret Parts; With Examples of Their Usage Foul and Savory, published this fall by Farrar, Straus and Giroux —

James W. Pennebaker looks at every single word people use — even the tiny ones — and is leading a resurgent interest in text analysis. Wow his analysis of the US Presidential candidates is fascinating.

East TN Man Names His Kid Sarah McCain Palin, Doesn’t Tell Wife

New currency for Jan 2009 [you tube]

Poetry News:

1. — In the world of book reviews, Minneapolis-based Rain Taxi Review of Books is something of an anomaly. —
2. — While Beckman and Zapruder don’t plan to sponsor another bus, other innovative Wave projects include the Bedazzler, an online literary magazine —
3. — Renowned poet accepts AUM fellowship —
4. — James Franco Will Star in Allen Ginsberg Biopic Howl —
5. — The Laureate’s lament: Being poet to the Queen is thankless and has given me writer’s block, says Andrew Motion —

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.

Poetry News:

1. — If birds come from something as bizarre as a smooth ovoid container with no exit or entry, then it’s not too far of a stretch to imagine that the backbone of a corpse becomes a snake —
2. — WordPlay - WPVM: Celebrating Jonathan Williams [links to MP3] —
3. — 2008 National Magazine Award Finalists —
4. — Interview with poet Mark Doty:A poet who goes from “Fire to Fire” & Mark Doty Video at Split This Rock —
5. — Editors Kathryn Stripling Byer and Marilyn Kallet gathered contributions from 52 female writers —
6. — Posthumously published, these poems by one of the great masters of the short story deal largely with aging and death —
7. — The sense of unknowing you feel at the end of a poem is not something you get and then get over. —
8. — Bishop’s poetry takes up about the first third of this Library of America volume; the rest is prose of varying kinds and interest — fiction and memoir, travel and literary pieces, translations and correspondence, some published for the first time —

Lest you think I’m not an idiot, I am. Before I even got my MFA I sent a poetry manuscript out to poetry contests. Even now that I’m wised up about poetry contests, there are some presses that I really like so I enter to support them (NMP’s chapbook contest deadline is coming up FYI). So yeah, I’m a hypocrite.

Thursday I’m meeting with the folks at the Vanderbilt Division of Medical Genetics. Wish me luck. I don’t know what to expect, though I know where they will be heading. Unfortunately, I’m in a lot of pain these days & didn’t help things when I slipped Saturday & fcked up my r. hip. Note to self: do not taunt Pluto.

Poetry News:

1. — Blogs versus Print: is there a prejudice? [and more, kinda, about the legitimacy of blogging.] —
2. — Elizabeth Bishop, in her early 20s, doing cart-wheels across the field at the farm —
3. — English Professor Sets Poetry Wheels in Motion for Luzerne County Residents —
4. — Poet Cathal O’Searcaigh wins €20,000 literary prize —
5. — Anna Akhmatova’s Portrait by Modigliani Presented to Russia —
6. — Fascinating —
7. — Len Sousa’s Poetry/Music Mashup [wandered there via a link here thank you] —
8. — These words gave me hope for humanity —

So why haven’t you read this book yet? Mmm.