Poetry Hut Blog

Poetry News:

1. — The death of the poet Reginald Shepherd has Alan Contreras puzzling over how to judge a student prize in his memory. —
2. — Those eleven [poems] were composed at the ages of twenty-three, forty-one, forty-eight, forty, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty, twenty-eight, thirty-eight, forty-two, and fifty-nine, respectively. There is no evidence, Galenson concluded, for the notion that lyric poetry is a young person’s game. [link thanks] —
3. — Mills College will be the first college in the nation to offer a graduate degree in book art and creative writing. —
4. — Gen Xers and Academia, Revisited —
5. — If you find her elusive approach vexing, there’s an aesthetic and moralistic reasoning behind it: “Fables” is, in part, a protest against the trend toward confessional literature, and the notion that the self represented is the author’s real one. —
6. — Can’t we leave Hughes and Plath alone? —
7. — Burger King Restaurants of Canada Inc. has announced the launch of MeatHaiku.com —

Iraq War Vets Left Bloody at the Debates & more here

Poetry News:

1. — Reginald Shepherd (1963-2008) —
2. — Searching for an Epic’s Origins —
3. — A pair of poems about September 11th, written before the planes were even in the air. [mp3] —
4. — Kanaka Maoli has become associated with poets who attempt to honor the use of native Hawaiian language in their work. —
5. — Thursday’s Poem: “poetry readings,” by Charles Bukowski from Bone Palace Ballet [mp3] —
6. — BBC Four is to broadcast a six-week series dedicated to poems important to British culture —

taking a break again. take care.

Poetry News:

1. — Detained poet in hospital with hernia —
2. — Haikuists are adept at juxtaposing vivid imagery during springtime —
3. — For the next four days, the area around U Street and Columbia Heights will be buzzing with the presence of poets —
4. — Stray Questions for: Ishmael Reed —
5. — Current Finalists for the 20th Annual Lambda Literary Awards —
6. — “I think poetry is a much larger part of our lives than popular culture indicates” —

I changed my bracket at the last possible minute before lock-down. Final 4 = Tennessee, Memphis, UCLA and Wisconsin. Still going with UT. (I don’t know what I’m doing.)

Some Split This Rock blogging here and here.

Poetry News:

1. — The second part of this post is about my impression of the role that some phantasmatic nightmare image of AWP plays in the imaginations of many participants in the various online poetry worlds —
2. — The poet laureate talks about how he’s not enamored of nature, his vote in the New Hampshire primary and the American preoccupation with happiness —
3. — Robert Pinsky’s work speaks to us in our common language and relates that language to our hopes as citizens —
4. — LOC Guide to Poetry & Literature Webcasts: Individual Poets, Novelists, and Writers —
5. — McGrath’s audacity has a genial, sociable quality, often with a flippancy that he directs back at himself, in the American tradition of kidding —
6. — Bukowski’s typewriter and night lair in daylight. Does this seem at all familiar to you? —
7. — Drunk poet climbs over cliff, seeking inspiration —

This song is being beamed to the “North Star” tomorrow. Hint: John Lennon wrote it. link. Happy 40th birthday, cool song.

Solving The Mystery Of The Metallic Sheen Of Fish

Poetry News:

1. — Morphine —
2. — The Author Will Take Q.’s Now —
3. — Major Jackson: Where He‘ From —
4. — Clueless CBI gives up Nobel theft probe after three years —
5. — Why Attempt Suicide? Evidence from the Poetry of Suicidal Poets —
6. — Mothers’ reading style affects children’s later understanding of other people’s minds —
7. — Philomene Long, 67, poet [may require bug me not] —
8. — Four of the most celebrated living poets — John Ashbery and former poet laureates Robert Pinsky, Robert Hass and Mark Strand — have new collections —
9. — Bob Dylan is a genius, but he’s no poet —
10. — The owner of a midtown bookstore set fire to hundreds of books on West 39th Street on Sunday —
11. — Poets on Prozac: Mental Illness Treatment and the Creative Process —
12. — ‘Myth’ A poem by Natasha Trethewey [thanks Jessica -- can't wait to hang out at Poet @ Tech on the 21st weee tell the cats I am on my way] —
13. — Interview with Appalachian beat poet Thomas Rain Crowe [links to MP3 & courtesy of WPVM] —
14. — Musical settings of poetry remain rare in jazz —

I don’t know how I missed this post but you should go read it. (I still mispronounce “big words” sometimes LOL.) I’m pretty much done with the “legitimate po-biz world” not that I have ever been in it really hahahahah. Taking a break from sending out stuff to lit mags for sure. Geez o pete, I have poems out from *last summer* that I never got a response back from. :/ That’s not 100% of the reason. I’m just finding the “legitimate po-biz world” increasingly icky-seeming & I’m happy enough just posting poems here, even if folks don’t seem too thrilled, ha. (No offense to anyone in the “legitimate po-biz world” who is reading this blog, I’m sure you are nice people < -- not being a smart ass.) Why, again, did I go into debt for an MFA? hahaha No, I don't regret that, I learned a lot and that is what I wanted to do, learn. I didn't particularly want to teach. I wanted to learn about poetry. Because writing it is fun & I wanted to find out how to write it better. :)

This is my favorite Beatles song.

Hell. It has rained 1 time since I last wrote here of rain. Usually at this time of year our porch/deck here in the woods is full of fallen acorn mast and dropped walnuts. I found one pea-sized acorn yesterday. The poor squirrels. I bought a bag of corn for them at evil Wal-Mart™. It is probably from China so I am probably poisoning them. But yesterday there were 7 squirrels stuffing their faces on the corn and not even hissing at each other. (And some stale Cheerios™ I put out there as well. I eat Cheerios every day. Or oatmeal. Oats and corn are 2 of my very favorite foods. Usually I live on corn during the summer, but not this year.) Poor squirrels so mangy and skinny. I’ll have to go to the farmer’s co-op and get some feed corn this week.