Web Del Sol

This site is all about poetry on the web, and provides many useful links and news articles related to poetry. Check it out below at:

http://www.webdelsol.com/IBPC/index.htm

Thanks for dropping in, help me ring in the new year with another poet who is no longer…

Philip Levine's A Simple Truth

First let me say I have a hard time finding ways to ask permission to post an entire poem, so therefore I cannot enlighten you as much as I would like to Levine’s poems. Philip Levine was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1928. He has won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and several other prizes for his work. The link below provides more detailed information about him and poems to read as well as an Audio Clip so you can listen to his poem. Levine is another poet whom I enjoy because he says what he means while making the language beautiful. You don’t have to find hidden meanings unless you want to, some poems are deep and some are just a breath of fresh air. I picked up his book The Simple Truth published in 1994 by Alfred A. Knopf. In this book, one of my favorite poems is “Ask For Nothing” in which he describes going on a walk in the evenings. This is a simple enough subject but I happen to love long walks in the countryside and no longer live where that is possible and he captures the feelings, sights, and sounds perfectly. Here is a short excerpt from “Ask For Nothing:”

Behind you the windows of the town
blink on and off, the houses close down;
ahead the voices fade like music
over deep water, and then are gone;

Please click the link below to find out more and certainly look for his work while you are out and about in your daily busy life. He will remind you to take a breath and see the wonderful things that greet you every day.

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/19

Thanks for reading, tomorrow is another poetry web-site installment…

An example of Dialogue

http://jim-murdoch.blogspot.com/

Jim Murdoch had commented on my Poetry Tips post about his having a dialogue poem shaped like a Rorschach ink blot test and has it posted on his site at the moment. Please check out the link for an example of a dialogue poem and also because he has added another layer of artistry by shaping it into an ink blot test.
Thanks for dropping in!

World Class Poetry Blog with Q&A

Allen and I conversed through e-mail and I asked if he would mind doing a mini-interview about his blog for today's feature and he happily obliged:

Q: What drove you to create a blog and website devoted to poetry?

A: One word - passion.

Q: How long have you had both sites and what do you hope to be able to do by having them?

A: I started the website in 2005 and the blog this year. I've been tinkering with html and Internet marketing since 2001. I wanted to build an online business in 2003, but before I could get anything real solid my National Guard unit was activated (mid-2004) and I spent all of 2005 in Iraq. While in Iraq I found a couple of months in the summer where I had an inordinate amount of free time due to a period of "steady state" operations. It was during those two months that I started the website and built about 10 pages. Then I had a six month period of time when I couldn't work on it at all. I didn't get started again until I got back home. But at that time I had family obligations and I started my business. Those two activities ate up most of my time, but I still took time out when I could to work on the website. It's been hit and miss mostly. I work on it when I can. The blog is something I started because it helps me promote the website and it keeps me writing every day.

Q: Any particular advice for poets out there today?

A: Yeah, I'd say read more than you write and don't worry about getting published until you know for sure that you have something that merits it. Publishing too early will spoil you and make you lazy. The most important thing is to write good literature. If you do that then publication will present itself at the proper time. You have to be patient. Thanks. Let me know if you need anything else. Allen


http://www.worldclasspoetryblog.com/

Thank you Allen, and thank you Poetry fans! Please stop in tomorrow for another living, breathing poet…

Poetry Tips: Dialogue

If you’ve been around poetry for a while you surely have seen poems where there are two speakers. Sometimes the poems are imagined conversations, others are real ones altered to fit a poem. They do not have to rhyme, or have a particular rhythm, or shape. You can scatter the conversation so that one speaker is “right adjusted” and the other speaker is “centered” when it comes to their lines. You can do many experiments with this and I challenge you to come up with a dialogue poem. It can be rather difficult at first, I admit I have yet to succeed and have scrapped every attempt, but they are good for getting the creative juices flowing.
Best of luck to your writing, may the muse be with you!

Please stop in tomorrow for Saturday’s Edition Poetry Blog…

Open Submissions at CapGun

I’m back and ready to get back to normal life. I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday and that you will have friends and fun on New Year’s.

Today’s Open Submissions are for CapGun:

Deadline is January 2nd 2008, so act fast! Submit 3-5 poems or 10 pages prose by e-mail to submit[at]capgunmag.com
Please explore their site to be sure your work will be a good fit! Best of luck to you!

http://capgunmag.com/

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow for another round of Poetry Tips!

Happy Holidays!

Hello regular readers and all newcomers! I will be on vacation until December 26th and I am not bringing my computer as I will not have the time. Please feel free to peruse my blog, and may your holidays be joyous occasions!

Here is the typical set-up of the blogs if you want to look through the archives:

Sundays: Living poets
Mondays: Poetry web-sites
Tuesdays: Poets who have passed away
Wednesday: Poems by Poet Hound OR Poems Linked (poems that I found interesting and provided links to).
Thursdays: Open submissions, whether they are on-line journals, print journals, publishing blogs, etc.
Fridays: Poetry Tips (from what different types of poems there are to ideas for writing exercises)
Saturdays: Poetry Blogs (typically a poet who has their own blog is featured, though sometimes it is a journal’s blog).

Please note I am always open to suggestions! If there are any poets you would like to see featured, or poetry related web-sites, blogs, journals, let me know! Post them in comments or send an e-mail to: poethoundblogspotATyahooDOTcom

We will meet again soon, have a wonderful Holiday Season!

Poetry Tips

Today is more about an idea than a tip. If you have been a regular reader you may have stumbled across some poetry broadsides, decorated cards of poetry. Why not create broadsides of your own poems to send as gifts? All you need is cardstock, and imagination. If you are really crafty and have a paper slicer, you can cut the poems to the appropriate size for 5X7 or 8X10 frames. You can use simple geometric designs or draw a simple scene involving your poem. Since people often like poems about themselves, this would be an excellent way to show your love and appreciation of them, a framed broadside produced by you, the creative genius. I know this tip comes a little late for Christmas gift giving but you can always give them out as birthday presents of as random acts of love and kindness.

May the creative muse be with you this holiday season…

POOL Open for Submissions

through February so be sure to act fast! You will need a cover letter, 3 to 5 poems, and as always, an SASE.

Send to:
POOL
Submissions
P.O. Box 49738
Los Angeles, CA 90049

For more details check out:

http://www.poolpoetry.com/submit.htm

Good luck with submissions, please stop by for more Poetry Tips.

Poems linked to Nerve Cowboy

http://www.onr.com/user/jwhagins/brookskyderby.html
Family get-togethers at their finest (as in the usual bologna). Michele Brooks’ poem “Kentucky Derby Day at my Aunt’s House” reminds me of my own family’s craziness, sure to remind you of yours as well…


http://www.onr.com/user/jwhagins/JakielaWatching.html
“Watching My Father Feed the Birds” By Lori Jakiela is a heart-breaker. Read only if you have the guts.

Thanks for reading the poems, tomorrow is another open submissions…

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Edna St. Vincent Millay was not only well known for her poems, but also for her beauty as a fiery red-head. Millay was born February 22nd 1892 and passed away in 1950. During her lifetime she first entered the poetic scene by entering her poem “Renascence” as a teenager and won 4th place. From then on she continued writing poetry and got involved in theater, and led an unconventional lifestyle forming intimate relationships with women. She is also the first woman to receive a Pulitzer prize for poetry. I provided a link below for you to find out more information, and this is what the above information is based from. I am reading Collected Poems Edna St. Vincent Millay and want to let those of you unfamiliar with her work that she is very capable of rhyme and rhythm. When most people think of poetry who are not poets themselves they often think the majority of poems are rhyming ones. Edna St. Vincent Millay is one of the poets that comes to mind for those who enjoy rhyme. I especially enjoy her poem “Tavern.”
She has a stanza I really enjoy:
“There shall be plates a-plenty,/And mugs to melt the chill/Of all the grey-eyed people/Who happen up the hill.”
Edna dreams of keeping a popular tavern that is comfortable and enjoyed by all who happen upon it, and I think most people dream of keeping a place, tavern or not, like that.
Like most people, I have favorite poems, and “The Bean-Stalk” is one of them because it is very imaginative and I can picture the climb in my mind. I urge you to check her out on-line at the link below and certainly your local library will have some of her work.

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/160

Thanks for reading, please stop by tomorrow for more linked poems around the world wide web…

E-Verse Radio

Now this is an awesome web-site! Ernest Hilbert hosts a weekly episode with producer Paul Fleming about poetry and they make it very fun and entertaining. They’ve had episodes about money and poetry, superheroes, the circus, all kinds of interesting things. You can also subscribe to their weekly newsletter and learn when the newest episode is available. If you find you just LOVE them, ask to receive some of their free E-Verse merchandise, and no I am not kidding, it is free! Check these episodes out at:

http://www.everseradio.com/

You won’t be disappointed! Please drop by tomorrow for another lost poet…

Unstable Euphony

I accidentally switched Saturday and Sunday, so today is a blog and yesterday was a poet. We'll continue with our regularly scheduled program come Monday.

Matt Mullins' blog, Unstable Euphony, has done a wonderful service to those of us unsure about which chapbooks to buy, he has been reviewing some of the ones from Kitchen Press. I find this a wonderful thing so that I don’t feel as apprehensive about my next purchase for my all-consuming hobby. He also provides commentary on other poetry-related themes. Please check him out at:

http://www.unstableeuphony.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading, please return tomorrow for another poetry website…

Robert Bly

Robert Bly was born December 23rd, 1926 in Madison, Minnesota. I picked up a book of his prose poems from the local library titled: What Have I Ever Lost By Dying. He has worked as a poet, translator, and editor and published more than 30 books of poetry. Isn’t that amazing? I often think of prose as poetry-as-a-paragraph. That isn’t the true definition, but that is how I make the distinction for my own knowledge, and thought I would share it with you. Below are two links to give you more information on Robert Bly and connect you to some of his poems. Also, here is an excerpt from one of his prose poems, “ Two Sounds When We Sit By the Ocean:”

…pebbles going out…Its is a complicated sound, as of small sticks breaking, or kitchen sounds heard from another house…
…And always another sound, a heavy underground roaring in my ears from the surf farther out, as if the earth were reverberating under the feet of one dancer.

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/280

http://poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=653

Thanks for reading, please stop by tomorrow for another great website!

Poetry Tips: Avoid the Word Poetry

Many poets at one point or another write about writing poems… This is a little obvious for the world of poetry. Most poets I have read do at some point include a poem about writing poems or about being a poet. I, also, have done it. However, it may be time to change up this practice a bit. If you decide to do such a poem, please omit the words Poem, Poetry, and Poet from the poem itself. Try to be creative in how you present the feeling of crafting a poem, negative or positive, and the experience of being a poet, without mentioning that you are one. In other words, think outside of the box and use different terminology. This will engage the reader and push you to be more creative. As a result, better poems and more fascinated readers. I wish you luck in all your writing endeavors…

Please stop by tomorrow for another wonderful blog…

Pleaides Opens For Submissions

Please include telephone number and email address with all submissions.
Prose should be double spaced with reasonable margins. Poetry should be single spaced, with the author's name on each page.
Do not send your only copy of any manuscript.
Pleiades accepts simultaneous submissions. We ask, however, that you note if a piece has been sent to another magazine.
Poetry should be addressed to Kevin Prufer and Wayne Miller. Please do not send poetry after May 31. We resume reading poetry on September 1.

Pleiades: A Journal Of New Writing
Department of English
University of Central Missouri
Warrensburg, MO 64093

This is all straight from their guidelines page, good luck submitting! I’ll see you tomorrow for more Poetry Tips!

Poems Linked by Poet Hound

http://tonguefire.blogspot.com/search/label/reasoning%20rhyme
This isn’t actually a poem, this is a discussion on rhyme which I found enlightening and came by it by way of Jim Murdoch who has been kind enough to post comments and references to poets on my own blog. Please check out this link written by Andrew Philip for some great information about rhyme.

http://www.fishousepoems.org/archives/yona_harvey/blessing_blue_crabs.shtml
I love this poem because I am now in Florida and blue crabs are tasty and popular down here… join in the feast!


Thanks for reading/listening to the links, tomorrow is another Open Submissions…

Temporary Setback

Hello devoted readers and anyone dropping by for a glance! I will be unable to post for several days because the breaker box in our place burned up and I'll be without power and living temporarily with family until things are fixed. Shouldn't be more than a few days, thanks for your patience!

Louise Gluck's satisfying meal of Poetry

Louise Gluck was born in 1943 and is a professor and a former Poet Laureate. Her poems are well known, or at least as well known as they can be for poets… As always, the Poetry Foundation has a nice collection of her work that you can check out at:

http://poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=2578

I picked up her book, Averno, at the public library. This is a fairly recent publication, 2006, and therefore more easily found for purchase in book-stores. The beginning poem, “The Night Migrations” catches you right away and it is one of those short, seemingly simple poems. The last stanza asks a very good question in reference to the dead not being able to see things that we, the living, can. “What will the soul do for solace then?” and goes on to say “maybe just not being is simply enough/hard as that is to imagine.”
From there, the poems continue to reach out and pull you in a little more and a little more. Some poems you can read quickly, Gluck’s deserve some time to savor, to be read just a little slower. There are many lines that can be read too fast where you might miss the “pull” I described earlier. Lines such as:

Sunrise. A film of moisture
On each living thing.
--from the poem “October” number 3.

I often hear of dew, but I’ve never thought of a film of moisture on every living thing. Little things like this are throughout the poems and can be easy to miss. Louise has a wonderful way of making sure you are paying attention without being too flowery, intense, or confrontational. There are so many poems with great lines and I could go on and on but I won’t for your sake. Please look through the archive of poems on the Poetry Foundation and absolutely take the time to check her out in the library or the book-store. She is very pleasing, “pleasing” to me seems the perfect word for it.

Thanks for dropping in, please stop by tomorrow for another Monday edition of a Great Poetry Web-Site.

The Truth About Lies Blog

Jim Murdoch is the author of this blog talking about all things poetry. He discusses his views on various subjects related to poetry and also his views on other people’s articles. If you like intelligent discussion, this is the place to go. Much like Ron Silliman’s articles you will find these articles require real attention because they are full of useful information.

http://jim-murdoch.blogspot.com/

Thanks to all of you who took the poll. Six people answered, four read more than 15 individual poets a year, 1 reads almost 15, and 1 reads between 6 and 10. Looks like people read more poets than I initially thought! Very good...
Thanks for dropping in, please stop by tomorrow for another living poet…

P.S. If you would like to see any particular poets featured here, please let me know either by comments or e-mail. I’m always open to searching out poets and hopefully I can find the majority of the mentions in the library or a used book-store.

Poetry Tip: Brainstorm Lists

There are some poems out there made up entirely of a list of things. Why not try the same thing for your poetry exercise? How can you turn your grocery list into a poem? How about a to-do list? Once you have the list, can you expand on the experience of performing the actions required to complete what is on the list and turn those actions into a poem? Your next poem may be about trying to buy your favorite bag of chips at the store only to discover your favorite flavor isn’t available. What then? You expand on the experience of feeling disappointed and settling on something else. The sky is the limit, may the muse be with you…

Stop by tomorrow for another poetry blog…

Gloom Cupboard Open Submissions

This is actually blog that publishes poems regularly, and is now accepting e-mail submissions for Issue 10. You can e-mail your submissions to: aprilmaymarch777@yahoo.co.uk

I asked the owner of the blog if there were any particular guidelines he used, and in a word, “no.” Here is what he told me in reply:

“I've deliberately left the submissions guidelines free and open. So there are no limits on style or content. I like people who are trying to be awkward and different. Of course my weakness for Bukowski-lite poetry means that occasionally a few of the same old - same old slip through the net.” –Richard Wink

http://gloomcupboard.blogspot.com/

Poems Linked and Liked by Poet Hound

http://chicanopoet.blogspot.com/2007/10/bluebonnet-state-of-mind-wallace.html
Reyes Cardenas’ poem linking poets to Texas


http://www.guerillapoetics.org/broadsides/
Charles P. Ries “The Perfect Saint”, and all of the poems featured are great!


Thanks for dropping in, check out tomorrow’s Open Submissions for those of you sending your poems out into the world in hopes of publication…

T.S. Eliot

Yes, T.S. Eliot is well known and loved by poets everywhere. Thomas Stearns Eliot was born in 1888 and passed away in 1965. His work is admired and cited often, and serious poets often look to his work for his literary correctness. He published several collections and I procured his copy of The Waste Land and Other Poems at a used book-store. Don’t you just love the hidden treasures found in used book-stores? The majority of the poems in this book are long poems and therefore I will feature a shorter excerpt of one I found in this collection. If you are thirsty for more, the Poetry Foundation has a collection of his poems so please click the link on the right and type in his name.

Virginia

Red river, red river
Slow flow heat is silence
No will is still as a river
Still.
......
White trees, wait, wait,
Delay, decay. Living, living,
Never moving. Ever moving
Iron thoughts came with me
And go with me:
Red river, river, river.

Thank you for dropping in, please stop by for links to more poems on the web…

Slope Site

Slope publishes poetry and criticism, and while it is not currently accepting submissions, you can check out the poems and be on the look-out for open submissions in the future. There is also a feature for American Sign Language. Definitely an intriguing site, especially since the moment you enter the page there is awesome music playing so be sure to turn your speakers up. Don’t worry, if you click on a poet or another page to look at, the music stops. This way you won’t be distracted by reading the contents of the site. Check it out at:

http://www.slope.org/index.html

Thanks for dropping in, tomorrow will be another feature of a poet who has passed…

Justin Barrett, not for the faint of heart

This poet is not for the faint of heart or the easily offended. His poems can make you laugh, think, or even make you uncomfortable. He pushes the envelope. Below I have included a link to his personal site filled with poems so you can see for yourself what I’m talking about. In the meantime, I asked the crew at the Guerrilla Poetics Project if I could have permission to post a poem from his book The Magnificent Seven produced by 12 Gauge Press and they said yes! Just to let you know, the book is available for purchase for $5.00 at the Guerrilla Poetics Store and that is how I came by purchasing it for myself. I love the cover, it is a watercolor painting of a man holding a guitar with the title of the poem I am about to reveal to you as the painting’s title.
Here are some useful links to check Justin Barrett out:
http://www.guerillapoetics.org/store/

http://justinbarrett.com/justinbarrett_lt.html

And without further delay, here is one of my favorite poems from Justin Barrett’s book:

they say robert johnson sold his soul to the devil, but i’m convinced the devil sold his soul to robert Johnson

the memphis heat,
sweltering and
humid,
drips off him like condensation down
a bottle of beer as he waits
at the crossroads.

the devil walks
towards him from the
north.

“howdy son,” the
devil says.

“howdy to you,”
robert returns.

“i got something for you
if you got something for me,”
the devil says

and that’s how it went.

when it was over
robert johnson returned
able to play his guitar
like it was a woman;

alternately turning
it on and pissing
it off,
making it moan
and sigh,

groan and cry.

they say robert johnson sold his
soul to the devil
but i’m convinced the devil
sold his soul to
robert johnson.

and it was the only time
the devil lost a bet.


Now how about that? The ending is my favorite part because how often do you ever hear of the devil losing? This poem rocks and I dare you to read more of his work on the GPP broadsides archive and on his personal site. Give him a shout out at GPP if you like, his work is awesome.

Thanks for reading, please drop in tomorrow for another great poetry web-site.

David Caddy's Blog

David Caddy features commentary about poets, poetry, and every day life on his blog. I say it is an entertaining read, especially since he includes little facts about poets. If you are dedicated to learning more about poets, check him out at:

http://davidcaddy.blogspot.com/

Thanks for checking in, please stop by tomorrow for another live and writing poet…

P.S. Check out Poetry Foundation’s NPR Podcast link titled “excuse me while I offend you” all about “flarf,” it’s worth your time.

Poetry Tips: Reading

Today’s tip is relatively easy, or is it? Reading other people’s poetry will help you write your own. You’ll learn knew clever uses for language, new designs for stanzas, imagery, syntax, and all those other fancy terms you had to learn in school when it comes to writing. Don’t just read poets you like, read poets you don’t like as well. Find out why you find certain poets unnerving. For me, I can’t stand poets who use “O!” at the beginning of their lines. Unless they’re from the 1800s, I don’t want to see it. It’s a personal thing. Learn what kinds of poems you would like to grow into or out of. Reading poems of all kinds from all over the world will give you so much more insight into your writing than trying to employ all the “tips” you come across from other writers. Poets themselves are teachers to other writers by virtue of their own works. Discover new ideas and techniques. Read!

Thanks for dropping in, please stop by tomorrow for another poetry blog…

Juked Open Submissions

If you went to the Cowboy Junkies posted yesterday you probably looked around the site and found the submissions page, but just in case, it is included below.
Direct your poetry to the Poetry Editor, Lindsay Walker. You can e-mail up to five poems to their e-mail: submissions@juked.com and make absolutely sure to title it as follows: Submission: (genre). Yes, you may send simultaneous submissions so long as you notify Juked right away if your poems are accepted elsewhere. Good luck to all of you!

http://juked.com/info/

Please stop in tomorrow for more Poetry Tips…

Found Poems

http://juked.com/2007/11/cowboyjunkies.asp
Cowboy Junkies Live at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel by Helen R. Peterson, reminds me of unfaithful ex-boyfriends…

http://www.tinhouse.com/mag/issue_current/current_poem.htm
“Guess” by Rae Armantrout, beautifully written, I especially like the power of the line “So we’ll be alive next week”…

Walt Whitman

Now just in case you didn’t read yesterday’s blog, I am including a link to one of Walt Whitman’s poems being read aloud below:

http://classicpoetryaloud.podomatic.com/entry/2007-10-05T00_41_00-07_00

Walt Whitman lived from 1819 to 1892 and is well known for his book of poetry titled Leaves of Grass and was considered controversial for its time. My father has this book, and I picked up Walt Whitman’s Selected Poems by Gramercy Books at the local library. Poets.org also has information on his life at the following link if you wish to hear more:

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/126

In addition, let me add some information gleaned from this book at the site mentioned above: Walt Whitman was born in Long Island, New York and raised in Brooklyn. His father was a farmer who was also uneducated but Whitman left at the age of 13 for a job at a newspaper and worked his way up to being an editor. In 1855 he published the well known book, Leaves of Grass and marked his debut into the world of poetry. This book was considered so outrageous that he lost his job as a clerk in the Department of Interior because Secretary James Harlan disapproved of his works. So if you ever though Whitman was boring because of your school days, let me assure you, he is not.

An excerpt from poem #21 that I particularly enjoy has these attention-grabbing lines:
…
The pleasures of heaven are with me, and the pains of
hell are with me,
The first I graft and increase upon myself….the latter I
Translate into a new tongue.

(the “….” Within the poem lines IS supposed to be there, I did not leave any words out).
Thanks for dropping in and I hope you will listen to Walt Whitman’s poem included in the link above. I’ll see you tomorrow for more linked poems I enjoy…

P.S. Let me just gush for a minute here about two wonderful men: Justin Barrett and Joseph Shields. Let me explain! I ordered a copy of Justin Barrett’s chapbook The Magnificent Seven from the Guerrilla Poetics Project Store and he enclosed a short hand-written letter! AND!!! Joseph Shields ALSO enclosed a short hand-written letter thanking me for subscribing to Nerve Cowboy. Thank you gentlemen! Not only does the chapbook and the journal rock, you have totally sealed the deal for my devotion by taking the time to send hand written letters thanking me for my interest in your journal/chapbook hoping I would enjoy them. I do enjoy them! Both are marvelous! I am thrilled that hand-written letters are still out there, thought I was one of the few who still did that…
Oh, and don’t worry Sheena, I include you in the hand-written letter category, too.
Thanks for making my week everybody!

Classic Poetry Aloud

In a world of podcasts, living legends who put out CDs of poetry, and wireless computers, someone finally decided to catch up the older poets who left this world behind before the internet was even a thought. Listen to all these poets’ poems read at the site link included below. Keats, Kipling, Byron, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, and so many more are all here for your listening pleasure. Enjoy perusing the site!

http://classicpoetryaloud.wordpress.com/

Please stop by tomorrow for another poet who has passed…

Richard Howard

Richard Howard was born in 1929 and has been producing poetry for over four decades and is still producing poems. He is also a critic, translator, essayist, and editor. His poems are dramatic and often monologues of imagined conversations with various famous figures. His poems can be a page and a half long to many pages, but his subjects are all interesting. I will give you a sample of one, the poem “Giovanni Da Fiesole on the Sublime, or Fra Angelico’s Last Judgment” dedicated to Adrienne Rich:

…You may have noticed how
Hell, in these affairs, is on the right
invariably (though for an inside Judge,
of course, that would be the left. And we
are not inside.). I have no doctrine
intricate enough for Hell…

This poem is out of the book inner voices by Richard Howard and I found it at the local library. These are poems from 1963 through 2003 and the poem above is my favorite so far in the collection. It is dark in a comforting way, I cannot describe the poem any other way. It speaks of death and heaven and crossing from the living to the dead. It is only a page and a half long and leaves you to ponder for much longer than it takes to read. I hope you stumble upon this book and find this poem on page 86, until then, please learn more at the following link:

http://poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=3295

Thanks for reading, please stop in tomorrow for another great web-site!

Cannibal

Not only does the title of the blog warrant attention, so does the name of the web-site link to it, included below. Just like Press, Press, Press, this blog features poetry books for sale. Cannibal produces its own journal and chapbook series and upcoming events. This is another “rabbit-hole” find that I think is worth investigating.

http://flesheatingpoems.blogspot.com/

Thanks for checking in, please read about another living poet feature tomorrow…

Poetry Tips Friday: Reviews

How often do you read reviews about movies and writers? I read them from time to time and don’t always agree with them. However, if you are stuck in Writer’s Block or just looking for a new spin, try writing a review or article by way of a poem.
You can describe a movie, a book, and title it as “A Critical Poem Featuring ……”


If that doesn’t sound interesting, try reducing a novel or movie into a poem. Can you make it short? Can you turn it into an epic poem? Can you make it easy to name the movie or book if you leave off the title when coming up with your own title? Can you put a new ending or spin on it? The possibilities are endless and best of all, great practice for thinking up new poems to write.

Good luck with your writing, please stop by tomorrow for another interesting poetry blog…

Happy Thanksgiving, Open Submissions at The Qurik

Happy Thanksgiving Poets and Poetry Readers!

The Quirk is open to submissions! Send an SASE with up to 7 poems to Kaveh Akbar and Erik Scott for their third issue coming up. No simultaneous admissions, and if you send in previously published work it must be fantastic writing with credits towards who published it. If you send them an e-mail and want your poems returned, send the SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope). If you submit by e-mail please title it QUIRK SUBMISSION in the subject line and in the e-mail include your mailing address. Good luck to all of you submitting!

The Quirk c/o Kaveh Akbar and Erik Scott1275 N. Third Street, Shreve B507West Lafayette, IN 47906

editors@thequirk.org

Thanks for stopping in, and give thanks to all of the poets who inspire you on this wonderful day of fantastic food and relaxation…
Stop by tomorrow for more Poetry Tips on Friday if you’re able to pull out of the Turkey Coma.

Poems Linked by Poet Hound

http://www.versedaily.org/2007/wholeworlds.shtml
Perfect for a gray, cold day…a poem by Lynne Potts titled “Whole Worlds Had Already Happened”

http://www.jubilat.org/n13/wilkinson.html
“A Brief History of Lying” by Joshua Marie Wilkinson… all I have to say is a soft “wow…”

Thanks for checking out these poets, and please stop in tomorrow for another Thursday edition of Open Submissions, yes, even on Thanksgiving I’ll still be posting… Utilize that long turkey-induce coma to send out some poems…

William Carlos Williams

William Carlos Williams is a very well known poet whom many poetry writers look up to, and of course, many readers look up to as well. He was born in 1883 and passed in 1963. I picked up William Carlos Williams’ Selected Poems edited by Charles Tomlinson at the local library and below I have provided another link to the Poetry Foundation’s information and poems of this poet. Ezra Pound discovered his talents in 1913 and brought Williams’ work to a wider readership. Williams was a poet and novelist who explored America in all its glory. He describes simple scenes and intimate moments, his poems range in length of page and in length of lines. Some are very short lines such as in the poem “At the Faucet of June:”

to solve the core
of whirling flywheels
by cutting
….

and longer lines such as the poem “The Yachts:”

brilliance of cloudless days, with broad bellying sails
they glide to the wind tossing green water
from their sharp prows while over them the crew crawls
….

All in all, his poems are easy to understand when they are read, and they are so very beautiful. I highly recommend brushing up on poetry in general by reading Williams and please use the link below to find out more about him.

http://poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=81496

Thanks for reading, please stop by tomorrow for more linked poems from around the on-line literary journals…

Bloof Books Site

I know what you’re thinking, how do I find all these places to go? By going deep down the rabbit hole that is Poetry on the Web… This site features a store page where you can buy books of poetry and it also features readings they will be hosting throughout the US, including Florida State University for those of you who visit my site from here in Florida. I e-mailed Bloof Books to see if there was a physical location and they told me they are located in Mercer County, NJ but only as a virtual site and on-line store. Please check them out, they have a blog with pictures of their readings and plenty of events to keep you occupied!

http://www.bloofbooks.com/news.html

Thanks for dropping in, I’ll see you tomorrow for another poet who has passed but leaves behind their wonderful words…

W.S. Di Piero

Mr. Di Piero was born in 1945 and grew up in Philadelphia. Luckily for us all, the Poetry Foundation has great information on him and poems to look at by using the link below. I had picked up the book Skirts and Slacks by W.S. Di Piero at the library and this link talks about this book. Don’t you love it when the hard work has already been done for you? Mr. Di Piero’s poems talk about every day happenings and of life and death. The language is easy to read and full of imagery you wouldn’t normally think of. For example, in his poem “Psychopomp” there’s these two lines:

Consciousness taffied by drugs
Into and out of the dull light
….

I love those two lines because if you have ever seen a taffy pull then it is a very intriguing image to think of “consciousness” being taffied. These kinds of lines are throughout the poems in this book and I highly recommend you take a look. Surely if I can find it in a library you can find it, too. As always, the Poetry Foundation offers fantastic poetry resources and to find out more about Mr. Di Piero please click on the link below and explore the poems that are featured.

http://poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=1769

Thanks for dropping in, please come by tomorrow for another great poetry website…

Chicano Poet Blog

This poet’s name is Reyes Cardenas and he posted a comment on my blog some time ago and of course I had to see who he was. He writes poems regularly and I enjoy all of them, especially since he lives in Texas. Texas is another personal favorite of mine as I used to live there for many years. Mr. Cardenas recently had a series of poems naming plenty of well known poets and linking them in one way or another to Texas which was funny and clever and very Texan of him. Please check out his blog at:

http://chicanopoet.blogspot.com/

Thanks for checking in, please come by tomorrow for another living poet…

Poetry Tips: Writer's Block Navigation

It is unavoidable. Sooner or later you will experience complete writer’s block, the boulder will stretch so tall and wide you cannot find a way to get around it. Here are a couple of ideas you can use to write a poem.

The Telephone Game: Sometimes you may find yourself busy-on-purpose to avoid writing and therefore facing the writer’s block boulder. If one of your ways of avoidance is to call up someone just to strike up conversation, write your idea of the phone conversation as a poem. You can make it as literal, abstract, or straightforward as you like. Once you finish, go ahead and call the person you had in mind and see if your “conversation” was as creative as what you produced.

The Letter/Card Conundrum: If you are about to write a letter or a holiday card to someone, try writing it in poem form with the person in mind. How would you describe what you’ve been up to lately? Would you be able to make it rhyme, put it in stanzas instead of paragraphs, etc? The possibilities are endless! Holiday cards make it interesting because once you write a holiday themed poem for one person, you can duplicate it and send it to others. See if writing a normal letter or holiday card in poetry form helps chip away that large boulder.

The Picture Poem: As you know, each picture is said to be worth a thousand words. Try to find a picture that you really enjoy whether it is silly, beautiful, sad, or inspiring and write about it in poem form.


Hopefully these ideas will help in a pinch when Writer’s Block sits in your path. May the muse be with you, and please stop by tomorrow for another great poetry blog…

Chicago Review Open for Submissions

The Chicago Review features poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. For poetry, there are no specific lengths or subject requirements, but be sure to include a cover letter. They also ask that you send at least three poems, and as always, include a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope.
Send your poems to:
Chicago Review 5801 South Kenwood Avenue Chicago IL 60637
Email: chicago hyphen review at uchicago dot edu

For further information, subscription rates, and samples go to:
http://humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/review/submit.shtml


Thanks for checking in, good luck on your submissions! Tomorrow we will feature more Poetry Tips…

Linked Poems and Demise of Poems

Here are some poems I would like to share with you:

http://www.poetrymagazine.org/magazine/1107/poem_180160.html
Kevin Young’s Poem: From “Book of Hours”


http://www.alicebluereview.org/main.html
Prose by Mike Cunningham: Flowering Dogwood


I will feature a couple of poems I enjoy each week and link you to them. Enjoy the writing and as always, support living poets by seeking out their books and purchasing them, and of course, always write to poets whose work you enjoy and let them know.

Aha! It was bound to happen sooner or later, an agent for a poet told me to delete a poem I had not asked permission to post. So I deleted it. However, I believe poetry should be free and shared. I didn’t plagiarize this poet or claim their work was mine or anything of the sort. My motive was to bring this poet’s work to the attention of other poetry readers. Of course, this poet is also a well known writer with many books under her belt and probably doesn’t need any help selling extra copies. For the other poets out there, I’d like to think they would be happy their work was featured and displayed for others to happily stumble upon. As a result, I have deleted several more posts that I think could lead to more agents requesting I take them down. I have also altered, deleted, or replaced poems with poetry links just in case. I will delete any and all work that an agent or poet asks me to, however, I still believe poetry was meant to be shared… This is why I am part of the Guerrilla Poetics Project.

Thanks for dropping in, see you tomorrow for another Open Submissions…

Dorothy Parker

Ah yes, Dorothy Parker. Not only is she well known, but I seem to encounter more and more women with her name. I often wonder if they get teased for having her name and whether any of them are poets, too. Dorothy Rothschild was born August 22nd, 1893. Her mother died young and Dorothy didn’t have a good relationship with her father and stepmother. Despite all of this, she became well known as a result of her editorial position at Vogue and then moved on to Vanity Fair. She married Edwin Parker whom she met at the Algonquin Round Table, the famous literary circle. Dorothy is best known for her poems, and published plays as well. Dorothy passed away on June 7th, 1967.

http://poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=174097


Thanks for stopping in, tomorrow I will feature links to poetry I enjoy rather than poems I have written. See you tomorrow…

Cloudy Day Art

Cloudy Day Art is a site with wonderful audio,podcasts, poetry, interviews, and blog features. And it also talks about how to make your own podcast poetry by explaining how to use audacity. Check it all out at:


http://www.cloudydayart.com/

Thanks for stopping in, tomorrow we’ll discuss another well-known poet who has passed…

Poetry's November Issue

Sometimes I run out of time to go to the local library to find living poets but I do try to subscribe to at least two publications a year that have poets featured in them. Poetry is the most obvious choice, and I would like to recommend this magazine for people who love poetry enough to have a whole literary journal dedicated to poets. Not only can this clue you in to living poets you may want to check out at the book-store, the poems selected often move you in some way.
The poet who moved me the most in the journal was Elfriede Jelinek, translated into English by Michael Hoffman. Elfriede does not write poetry much anymore, but the works included were wonderful, they all had a “bite” to them. She is better known for her fiction titled The Piano Teacher, however I implore you to check out this issue on-line, in book-stores, or libraries and seek her poems out. They are truly wonderful.
May I also mention that Neko Case has an article in this issue? For those of you who love the band The New Pornographers, this is a fabulous treat. I, for one, love her article because I can relate. I have no degree in English and yet I love poetry and feel the need to pursue it by sharing it with others or trying it myself. Fantastic little article…
In the meantime, check out Kevin Young’s poem “From Book of Hours”, a little long by my usual standards but I ate it up, and also Nicole Pekarske’s poem “Carolina Journal” which reminds me of all my relatives in their hometown of Linton, Indiana.

I would post the poems if I could, but I ran out of time to ask permission. And Poetry is wonderful about granting permission so long as the author also agrees should any of you ever want to share poems with a class, on a web-site, blog, etc. Keep reading poetry, and please check out this journal based out of Chicago. Thanks for dropping by!

P.S. I will be delayed in posting Monday's response as I will be going out of town and returning later in the afternoon. Also, don't forget to vote in the poll at the bottom...

Lame House Press

First of all, don’t you love the name? Second, definitely not lame. This blog doesn’t post about themselves much, in fact, it is geared to selling poetry books that are rather obscure in nature. This is a great place to find the needle in your haystack in regards to poetry. You can buy right on site by clicking the “buy now” button under each book and doesn’t that make life so much easier than following a link to a book or several links to get to a book you might want to look at and buy? Please check this place out at:

http://lamehouse.blogspot.com/

Happy hunting and please come by tomorrow for more living, breathing poets…

Poetry Tips: How do your poems rate?

One of the hardest things to do is to grade your own poems after you’ve finished. You don’t have to be in school to realize the value of your work.
The way I often grade myself is by using the following:
1 = Poor, 2 = Fair 3= Average 4= Good 5= Excellent

These are the questions I use to grade my own poetry on the 1 – 5 scale:
Does the poem make sense to the intended audience?
Does the title make sense in relation to the poem?
Is the poem the appropriate length for the content?
Is this poem unique to your voice/style?
Is the subject matter presented in a unique way?
Is the subject trite?
Would you publish this if it were your journal/book to edit?

I don’t use this scale on every poem. Sometimes poems are written just to be written. But I highly recommend grading yourself on poems you wish to submit for publication and you can always create your own grading criteria, after all, you know you best.

Good luck with writing, please stop by tomorrow for another poetry blog…

No Tell Motel Open Submissions

No Tell Motel is an awesome web-site that is open to submissions year round. Send between 5 to 8 poems to submit(at)notellmotel.org with the heading: “(Your Last Name)_Submission and be sure not to submit too often, once every four months is acceptable. Don’t forget your bio, and for more details, check them out at:

http://www.notellmotel.org/index.php

Thanks for stopping in, best of luck with your submissions!

Poem by Poet Hound

This Evening at Home (for Kathryn)

Mauled fur-kitten
mess on the floor,
animal sacrifice of
the dogs of chaos.
Now, two souls led
to death-row sentence
kennel unless adopted
by kinder-hearted souls
unaware of the guilty
verdict: Cold-blooded murder.

Thanks for reading, please come by tomorrow for Open Submissions. Also, don't forget to take the poll by scrolling to the bottom picture...

The Page Site

This site features poetry, essays, and more. Lots of information to search at your leisure and if you ever wanted to create a list of poets to check out at the library, quickly, this is the place to go. Poets both obscure and well-known are featured, lots of news items done on poets, this site is “manna from heaven” for poetry lovers. You can look at individual poems featured in all kinds of literary journals, which is great because you can sample poems from journals you may want to submit to, and you can get a sense of certain contemporary styles that are popular here and now. Please check this site out at:

http://thepage.name/

Also, please take a moment to fill out the poll by scrolling to the bottom picture

Thanks for checking in, please come back tomorrow for a poet missed but not forgotten…

Traveling Without A Map by Margaret J. Hoehn

I picked up a poetry chapbook at a local indie book-store by Anabiosis Press and felt I should share it with you. It is titled Traveling Without A Map by Margaret J. Hoehn and it is delightful. I was hoping to find a way to contact her but ran out of time. She is from Sacramento, California and while this chapbook was the winner of the 2004 Anabiosis Press Chapbook Contest she has won other prizes before and since then. If you are able to find any work by her, please take a look and see for yourself how clean and refreshing her poems are, particularly in this chapbook if you happen to come across it. I also bet you can ask Anabiosis Press if they have any more copies or could produce a copy for you. Chapbooks are typically very inexpensive.
Here is one of her refreshing poems:

Georgia O’Keefe Writes Her Friends:
“I Won’t Return To New York”

At Ghost Ranch,
I chip turquoise from sky,
gather bits of summer
into my pockets,
watch the skull of a horse
rise, luminous and white:
morning star above the ridges,
lit bone spilling
back to the land,
memory of scrub
and stone,
of a colt that grazed
wild with its herd.
Here, I savor the lavish
Desire of light,
walk unfettered
toward four horizons,
forget how to sleep,
stack longing
in the shade of a cliff.
Between angular hours,
I study the syntax
of wind, of cliffs,
of my lover’s
blue veins.
Here, I am a grain
of warm sand, I am
the desert’s bright door,
shaped
like a slender green leaf.

This poem is the very first poem in Margaret Hoehn’s chapbook and I was hooked right then and there to read the rest of them. Excellent arrangement of poems,too, all of them connected to each other so the book flows very well.
Thanks for reading Margaret J. Hoehn’s work, please stop by tomorrow for another great poetry web-site!

Blog: Home of a Cackling Jackal

Reb Livingston, creator of No Tell Motel, has created this blog. She happened to add my blog because I featured one of the poets she published, Laurel Snyder. I started reading her blog before she featured me and I was happy to see the link for Ms. Snyder. Reb is funny and insightful and will clue you in to Poetry sites and poems galore. Not only is the blog fun to read, it can be a great resource. I highly recommend stopping by regularly since she posts often. Check it out at:

http://www.cacklingjackal.blogspot.com/

Please take a moment to answer the poll by scrolling down to the picture at the bottom. Thanks again for stopping by, please come back tomorrow for a living poet…

Poetry Tips: Reading Poems Aloud

This seems simple enough, but how often do you read your poems out loud after writing them? I used to be lazy about it until I joined a poetry group. You will be able to uncover words that don’t sit next to each other well, and you may find that you are adding words that aren’t in your poem so that it flows easier.
Be sure to identify any places that trip up your tongue, any punctuation that disrupts the flow negatively, and any words that sound out of place in your poem. It is amazing what you will discover if you read them aloud to yourself. In addition, try to read them aloud to someone else and get their feedback. This has proved invaluable to me. Your audience (no matter how large or small) will be able to say whether the poem made sense in regards to what you wanted it to say, if there are too many “big words” or changes in subject or too simple or too abstract. Depending on the audience you want for yourself, the feedback can also let you know if you are on the right track to reaching them.

Good luck with crafting the perfect poem, please stop by tomorrow for another featured blog!

ALBATROSS Open for Submissions

I am so happy to feature ALBATROSS for open submissions because while you can easily download and read the magazine at your leisure for free, I was able to find the printed hard copy version at a local indie book-store and it is much easier to curl up in a chair and read with a book rather than a laptop. They consistently feature great collections of poems that flow nicely together. Some journals have poems that differ from each other so much that I have a hard time moving from one poem to the next with ease. ALBATROSS issues always flow and ease you into each successive poem and all of them are superb. I never regret spending time reading each of the issues.

ALBATROSS requests 3 to 5 poems not to exceed 200 lines each, no simultaneous submissions, a biography and a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE). For further information about their press and guidelines go to:
http://www.anabiosispress.org/

Good luck with your submissions, and please stop by tomorrow for more Poetry Tips.

Poem by Poet Hound

October’s Embrace

October girls are not obscured in costume,
they are lit from within
like carved pumpkins
delighted to behold bold colors
of autumn forests,
crackling leaves
under every footstep
when the air is becoming
as crisp as their voice
commanding attention
and a foothold
on your heart.
Do not deny her the pleasure
of shaking your hand
or warming you with an embrace
that melts the surliest of souls.
October girls are confident,
clever, and kind
with a pinky-swearing ability
to never let a friend down.
Preserve such a girl,
keep her close,
for if you are lucky
she will prepare you a toast.



Thanks for reading my poem, please stop in tomorrow for another Open Submissions!

Octavio Paz and the Labyrinth

Octavio Paz was born in 1914 in Mexico City and began writing at an early age. His grandfather had an extensive library and was an active political journalist which passed down to Octavio Paz’s father. Octavio also founded the journal Taller featuring emergent writers. He is well known for his work The Labyrinth of Solitude. This book was his study of the Mexican Identity. He is known as an essayist and poet and while he passed away in 1998, his writing is as important today as it was while he was alive.
The following poem comes from a book of his poems titled: The Collected Poems of Octavio Paz 1957 – 1987.

A Draft of Shadows

in magnetic rotation
link and scatter
on the page.

I am where I was:
I walk behind the murmur,
Footsteps within me, heard with my eyes,
The murmur is in the mind, I am my footsteps,
I hear the voices that I think,
the voices that think me as I think them.
I am the shadow my words cast.

Thanks for stopping by, please come back tomorrow for more Poetry by Poet Hound.

Open Books Web-Site

This is a Poetry Book-store in Seattle, WA and while I do not live anywhere close and have never personally visited I did read an article months ago about them. Poetry Only book-stores are very rare and this is one of them. Even if you cannot visit in person you can find lists of their books available for order on-line and if you are looking for a particular poem or poet who you can’t quite put your finger on they will help you find the answer! I e-mailed them and asked if I had gotten my facts right that the book-store was part of the owners’ house and they responded to that and much more! Here they are quoted directly:

“The bookstore is not in our house, not yet. The store is street-level on a busy arterial in what was the garage and basement of a 100 year old bungalow. The upstairs part of the building was a restaurant for 7 years and has been vacant for 4 years. We are remodeling it back into a residence and will live there someday.We gain customers and lose customers as the years move along. We started in this neighborhood with a small general bookstore 20 years ago, moved it and turned it into poetry-only 12 1/2 years ago. We have watched the children of some of our customers grow up, and attended the funerals of some of our customers.We enjoy the store a great deal. There are headaches, of course, as with any business. We enjoy the art form and like many of the people who enjoy too.We changed to poetry-only as it became clear that owning a small general bookstore was becoming very difficult, what with Barnes & Noble, Borders,and Amazon (which was just beginning to make waves when we made the change).The mass market approach to literature was not for us. We each had studied poetry on the graduate level, knew and read poetry, and were able to talk about it to customers, something we couldn't do with science fiction, etc.When we closed the first bookstore most of our business there was in poetry and poetry-related books, so the move made sound business sense.Thanks for your interest,John”Open Books: A Poem Emporium2414 N. 45th Street Seattle, WA 98103(206) 633-0811www.openpoetrybooks.com


Please check them out by clicking the links and do feel free to drop them a line or an inquiry about a poet or a poetry book!

http://openpoetrybooks.com/index.html

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Poet that has Passed….

Blog: Avoiding the Muse

This blogger’s name is Dale Young who lives in San Francisco and practices medicine. All of this is in his profile. What I like about Dale is that he does not fit the description of what most people consider to be a poet. Growing up I was always given the impression that all poets were starving artists who lived in Starbucks. Obviously this is not true of pretty much ALL poets, and Mr. Young is refreshing in breaking up that idea for anyone else clinging to that view. After all, he practices medicine, not only that, but he also magically finds time to teach AND carves out time to write AND is an editor of New England Review. Trust me, he has plenty to talk about and plenty of interesting things going on in his life. Check him out at:
http://avoidmuse.blogspot.com/

Thanks again for reading my little blog, and please stop by tomorrow for another living poet…

Poetry Tips: An Outside Perspective

Many poets, myself included, tend to write poems from only one perspective: their own. They write about their lives, their view out the window, their own objects and family and friends. Sometimes it is good to take a look at things from someone else’s perspective, or even something. For example, if you were to write about the view from the window, why not write it from your pet’s perspective? How might an ant crawling across the carpet to your cabinet door view things?
Or, you can write about events outside of your immediate control. You could write about the wars in other countries, marketplaces in other countries, the sights and smells of a safari you’ve never been on. Perhaps you can write from the perspective of a person in office, a person with short term memory loss, someone with paralysis, someone with mental illness such as Schizophrenia. The idea is to literally set yourself in another pair of shoes and walk it for an entire length of a poem.

Good luck and may there be no writer’s block on your paths of writing…

Tampa Review Open Submissions

This journal ends it’s open submission period on December 1st. So you have some time to pick through your choicest poems before sending. Send between 3 to 5 poems, and include a line count for each one. The mailing address is:
Tampa Review
The University of Tampa
401 W. Kennedy Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33606

http://tampareview.ut.edu/guidelines.html

Good luck to those of you submitting! I’ll see you tomorrow for more Poetry Tips…

Poem by Poet Hound

Cerulean

Skies whisper
secrets of Greek gods who
gild ears of listeners
and hold captive
the sound
of Ancient Rome’s chariot
race wheels which still spin.
Horses whine and whinny,
gladiators blue-faced in fear
fight tigers who grin fully.
Echoes ruminate
into nightmares
and story books whimper
after all these centuries.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my rough draft, check out Open Submissions Thursday….

Allen Ginsberg, Beat Poet

Allen Ginsberg is synonymous with Beat Poets, the generation that revolutionized Poetry in the 1940s and 1950s. Almost all poetry readers know Ginsberg because of his most famous poem “Howl.”

According to poets.org,
“Beat poetry evolved during the 1940s in both New York City and on the west coast, although San Francisco became the heart of the movement in the early 1950s. The end of World War II left poets like Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Gregory Corso questioning mainstream politics and culture. These poets would become known as the Beat generation, a group of writers interested in changing consciousness and defying conventional writing.”

I have picked up Allen Ginsberg’s book Death and Fame Last Poems 1993-1997. His poem “Nostalgia” was written six days before he passed away. The poems reflect his life’s journey, political views, perspective on fame (as he was very famous and dealt with the celebrity world) and his final thoughts.

Here is an excerpt from Ginsberg’s poem:

Don’t Get Angry with Me

Don’t get angry with me
You might die tomorrow
I’m an empty hungry ghost
Any spare change I can borrow?
….

Don’t get angry with me
Hell’s hot tomorrow
If we’re burned up now inflamed
Could pass eons in horror

Don’t get angry with me
We’ll be worms tomorrow
Both wriggling in the mud
cut in two by the ploughman’s harrow
…..

(again, “…..”means the poem is excerpted. Since I am acquiring more readers and realizing I need permission to reprint I excerpt for educational purposes so people viewing the blog get an idea of the poet and I also don’t have to spend ample time hunting down who to get permission from.)
Thanks for dropping in, please stop in tomorrow for more rough drafts by Poet Hound.

Forklift Ohio

Forklift Ohio is not your ordinary literary journal. It is not based out of Acadamia and it does not produce journals in a typical fashion. Check out their Operations tab to find out just how unusual they are. Anyone this interesting deserves a nod. I have been dying to get my hands on one of their journals but I keep spending my money on poetry books instead. They feature poets from around the world and I love exploring their web-site pining for the day that I buy a copy of their journal before heading out to a book-store. Check them out at:
http://www.hubcapart.com/ink/index.php

Thanks for tuning in, see you tomorrow for a poet who has passed but his words carry the howl that is Poetry…

Laurel Snyder and her First Book of Poems

I happened upon PRESS PRESS PRESS blog one day and have to say that the cover art of her book was the first thing to catch my eye. I had never heard of Mrs. Snyder before and searched out some sample poems and found that I thoroughly enjoyed them so I ordered a copy from http://www.lulu.com/content/1139098 and must say I am very pleased. So pleased, in fact, that I sought her out for an interview and here are the results:
In regards to posting the poem featured at the end of this interview, “What the Dock Saw,” Laurel Snyder replied:

“Sure, of course, yes! Please post anything you like. Now that the book is out I think it's my call, though I'll check with the publisher... it was first published at American Letter & Commentary, so they get the credit I think.”

Here is the interview about her new book The Myth of the Simple Machines:

1. I can see that you write in several genres such as essays, children's books and poetry. Do you have a favorite genre and if so, why?

God, what a question to start with! It's a really hard issue for me right now. Because although poetry will always be my first genre, when I'm being honest I have to admit that I feel its limitations strongly. Poetry is (for me) the most important kind of writing. Condensed, reduced, perfect. It serves my need to tinker with language, with my own thoughts. But as a way of communicating with a larger world, a wider audience, it sucks. People can argue about this all day long, but at the end of the day, an essay or a radio commentary or a novel is usually a better way of "telling" someone something. And since I'm a yammery kind of girl, and I love to communicate with people, this is a good thing. Since I've begun to work in prose, especially to write for kids, I feel freed up. But poetry will always be the way I think. It's nice to have both.
2. How has the road to publication been since you decided to try and when did you start?

Oh, lordy... The truth? I wrote my first poem in 4th grade. I took my first workshop in 10th grade, and published my first poem in the high school literary magazine that year. Does that count? I only ever wanted to be a writer, and on some level, what I meant by that always included publishing. But I didn't really start sending my poems out in a serious way until a few years after I finished my MFA. I was feeling really lazy until then. Boycrazy and drunk, too distracted to focus. When I finally got into gear, I found the contest circuit to be awful. Really daunting and dumb. This book was a finalist or semi-finalist too many times to count-- for the Whitman and the Beatrice Hawley, and the Brittingham and Pollack and so on. It made me feel crappy and second rate, over and over. When No Tell Books asked to see a manuscript, I was over the moon. They've been amazing.
http://notellmotel.org/


3. In your first book of poems The Myth of the Simple Machines how did you decide which poems to put together?

I tend to write in cycles, series. So that made the first and last sections easy. The poems in the second section of the book all speak in first person, and the poems in the third section all address (to my way of thinking) language directly in some way. I don't want to get into this too far-- since I want to believe that if it matters, readers will notice-- but essentially the book moves from the bones of narrative, through an accretion of personal/confessional detail, into an examination of language, and then out again. Into prose. It mimics my own process as a student.


4. How did you decide on the title?

I like that its unclear whether the term "myth" applies to the machines themselves, or just to the idea of their simplicity. I'm not sure that I know the answer myself. I love myth. I believe strongly in myth and all that the term implies. The falseness underlying a myth, and our need for it. Religion is a mindf**k, no?


5. I love the cover art and I must admit that's how I first stopped to look at the sample poems. Once I saw those, I fell in love. Did you have any say on the cover art?


I actually commissioned that piece, from my amazing illustrator for a picture book I have coming out in 2008. (http://www.jaimezollars.com/) I liked the idea of creating continuity among my genres. A connection between my poetry and my kidlit. Isn't she great? I think I said, "make it lonely, with a bird, and something that's almost a machine."


6. What was your inspiration for "the girl poems" as you and I call them in the first section of the book?

In the beginning I thought of them as arithmetic. I wondered what would happen if you had a very few number of variables in a series of poems. And you just sort of added and subtracted the variables from one another. I liked the idea of a closed system. I love narrative.


7. I am quite taken with the poem "What the Dock Saw" and would like to post it for everyone to see. So long as I have permission I will do so and would you tell me more about how this poem came about?

Well, so that's the arithmetic I'm talking about... I took the girl, and put her on a beach, and gave her a bottle. I wanted to see what the bird would do. What the girl would do? What the beach would do? I think these poems are very invested in how the inanimate world can become animate. Not unlike kidlit, now that I think about it... Hmmmm....


8. Any advice for those seeking to publish their own poems or stories?

Absolutely. My advice is to be insanely persistent. INSANELY! Publishing does matter. Being read does matter, and feeling like you've taken steps forward is critical if you want to keep on going. But so often people start "at the top" and send to the New Yorker or the Paris Review. Then they get frustrated. My best advice is to find online magazines publishing really good work. So much of the best poetry today is online, because with no overhead, online media can publish more, and they tend to be a little riskier in what they accept...


This is the longest post I’ve ever done and I’m thrilled, actually. But wait! There’s More! Here is her poem, first seen in American Letter and Commentary, mentioned earlier:

What the Dock Saw

1
The moon shone on the bottle, girl inside.
At rest, it was resting. It was still
where the girl slept, cheek to glass. Hushed.

She was done with the water, but first
the water had done with her—nearly
finished her with one clever wave.

And how the bottle escaped the wave
was a miracle of division. It was a strong bottle.
The girl was fine, if held. They were two vessels.

So if a gull, white rustling in darkness,
found himself less white in that darkness,
less lit from above—he could hardly blame

the moon its grudging love.
The gull cried hollow, outside the moment.
The girl slept on. The bottle was full.

The moon felt sad, but when he turned
to them, he turned on them. The girl turned
in her sleep, and the bottle shivered.

2
The girl crawled out, and into morning.
All pale and simple, she found: Herself,
with sand on scrambling knees; Water,

held by the waterline, now inching an apology;
Bottle, empty object; Moon, gone.

Instead, the sun. A sure sun and almost
where she looked, almost everywhere.


Thanks so much for checking out Laurel Snyder’s interview. Please check out her book of poems, they are reported to be out in Barnes and Noble soon if you don’t want to order through lulu.com or Amazon. You can also check her out at: http://www.jewishyirishy.com/
Always support living writers for they are generally unable to make a living off writing alone.

Check in tomorrow for another great web-site!

What You Want, You Know I've Got It

Well, I messed up. I accidentally posted Saturday’s post on Friday, a whole day early.
So, since I did that, I’m going to ask you to let me know if there’s anything you’d like to see in particular in this blog. I started it because I couldn’t find what I wanted, or if I did find it, it was terribly inconsistent. As noted on the profile, my aim is to provide resources to poets and poetry readers, and to keep in concise and understandable. But this blog is nothing without readers, so if there’s a feature you’d like to see more of, less of, or a different feature altogether, let me know. So far there are features on poets live and writing, poets who have passed on, cool web-sites, featured blogs, open submissions for various presses and journals, tips for writing, and my own little rough drafts. If you've got anything to say you can post it in the comments or e-mail me at poethoundblogspotATyahooDOTcom.

Tomorrow I will post my e-mail interview with Laurel Snyder on her first book of published poems titled The Myth of the Simple Machines. Please stop by tomorrow and check it out!

Poetry Tips: Mix and Match

It may be that you have enough poems under your belt that there are similar themes, subjects, words, etc. Many poets have taken two poems and place them together in many shapes and forms. Some have two separate poems side by side on the page so that it is easier to decipher that they are different. Others use spacing and indents while alternating stanzas of two similar poems so that you may not realize two separate poems are co-existing peacefully on the same page. Either way, it is a great exercise in creativity and can be quite fruitful in producing new poems. Good luck, and may the Muse whisper often in your ear.

Drop by tomorrow for another noteworthy blog…


Saturday:

PRESS PRESS PRESS

Now that I’ve gone deep down the “rabbit hole” that is the World of Poetry I was ecstatic to stumble onto this site. PRESS PRESS PRESS features nothing but the newest poetry books out from small presses. Please by all means support these little presses and their poets by checking them out at:

http://presspresspress.blogspot.com/

Thanks for glancing in and please come by tomorrow for a fantastic interview with Laurel Snyder who has her very first book of poems out from PRESS PRESS PRESS.

Open Submissions With + Stand

Thanks to Ron Silliman for including this link in his blog, I was able to include this as an open call for submissions. With + Stand is very new, not much is known about them but this is another opportunity to be the first of a new magazine.
Please visit the site and happy submitting!
http://withplusstand.blogspot.com/

Poetry by Poet Hound

I did not have time to comprise another Punctured Poetry edition, they are more difficult to do than I first imagined so I am back posting my own rough drafts until I come up with more. As always, you are welcome to submit your own poems to poethoundblospotATyahooDOTcom. Until then, enjoy…

Apricot

Dry and boring, it shrivels
on the back porch to the sound
of drip-drop-drip
of scattered rain,
bland color sucking
in the sunny disposition
of peaches fat and nestled
in the splintered wicker bowl.



Oh, and P.S. I am currently trying to get Shail Patel’s attention to post his poems from POETRY the October issue. These are Patel’s first published poems from what the bio in POETRY says and if he does finally answer my e-mail, I will happily post them on an upcoming Sunday for a live writing poet feature.

Thanks for dropping by. Tomorrow we will feature another open submissions!

Poems For All

This web-site is really spectacular in that it is artistic, fun, and free, just like the Beard of Bees Press.
This site is titled Poems For All and is based out of Sacramento, California where a one-man show literally prints up tiny poetry booklets. They are business card sized booklets, folded in half, containing the poet’s poem(s) inside. The man in charge creates the cover of the booklets and then distributes them for free all around the city. There is also an on-line submission page should you feel so inspired to submit a poem of your own and see if published in this way. The covers are clever and colorful, the poems are also divine. I submitted a poem of mine already, we’ll see if it ever gets taken up… In the mean-time, check out the site and enjoy!
http://www.sacfreepress.com/poems/

Thanks for stopping in and I’ll see you tomorrow to discuss another passed poet…

Luna Park Literary Review

“Luna Park is a review of little and literary magazines begun in 2007 as a blog. We regularly feature excerpts from little magazines, reviews of little magazines, exciting Found works from the magazines, interviews, and essays about the history of little magazines. The name Luna Park is taken from the title of a fictional French literary magazine in a short story by the Chilean novelist and poet, Roberto Bolano. Luna Park is on the review media list at CLMP and is serialized in print form in The Burger.”

That’s straight from the horse’s mouth! I think this is a fantastic place to go if you are hoping to subscribe to a literary magazine. You can see if they have already featured it or you can contact them and ask if they know anything about it. They may even invite you to provide reviews for them if you have something to say about a literary magazine. Check them out at:
http://lunaparkreview.blogspot.com/

Stop by tomorrow to learn about a featured poet live and writing…

Poetry Tips: The Importance of Each Line

One of the most challenging things about completing your poem is reading it over to make sure each line is just as important as the next. For example, is every line interesting? Does the story line make sense overall? Are there any extra words or images that don’t blend with the rest of the poem? These are questions to ask throughout.

The most important thing you can do is to pay special attention to the first stanza. Often, the first stanza is like turning the key in your car’s ignition: It is the only way to get your engine started, but it does not get the car move. Sometimes you need to eliminate the first stanza because it was only needed to start the poem before running. Stanzas 2 through the last stanza may sound amazing, but the first stanza may need some work. Or it may need to be eliminated altogether.

The first line of the poem is the most important after the title. The first line has to grab the reader’s attention and it has to keep the reader wanting more. If it is lackluster then you might want to re-work it or get rid of it.

You also may have one line in the entire poem that sounds fantastic, it may be the only line that “carries” the poem. Here, you have a decision to make. Either take the line out so the rest of the poem blends well or use the fantastic line in another poem altogether. A poem can not survive on just one fantastic line. Each line has to be just as fantastic as the next one.

I don’t care what anyone says, you need a title. The title is the most important line in the poem. Some poems seem obscure or hard to understand without their title. Titles are more difficult than most people realize. It has to clue the reader in to what the poem entails, it has to grab attention, and if it is too long you’ll lose the reader’s interest. Sometimes it is easier to grab a key word in your poem for the title. Other times, your poem may skirt around a subject and the best title would be the subject itself. Always try to title your poems. You don’t have to title them right away. You can always come back later, especially if you go to bed thinking about a title and sleep on it. The brain always continues working while you’re sleeping, you’ll surely wake up in the morning with an idea or two.
I hope your muse guides you while you write, and I will see you tomorrow to discuss another great blog…

Pinch Pinch Press

This looks like a brand new press full of excitement and promise. I highly recommend you check them out and submit before they are overtaken by the other thousands upon thousands of eager poets hoping to be published. AND if you aren’t submitting, check them out and see if you might be interested in ordering a subscription. This press wants visual art poetry which I would LOVE to see and combines fiction and the possibility of being invited to submit a chapbook if you are able to publish in their journal and have perhaps created a following among the small presses. Don’t miss this opportunity to be one of the first in a new journal! There are several small presses whose sites are blogs just like this one, and don’t worry, I’ll feature them on Thursdays when they are ready for a fresh batch of submissions. Until then…
http://pinchpinchpress.blogspot.com/

Good luck to those of you submitting! I’ll see you tomorrow for more Poetry Tips…

First Edition: Punctured Poetry

Original poem by Kim Addonizio:

What Was

The streets fill with cabs and limos,
with the happy laughter of the very drunk;
the benches in Washington Square Park,
briefly occupied by lovers, have been reclaimed

by men who stretch out coughing under the Chronicle.
We’re sitting on the cold slab
of a cathedral step, and to keep myself
from kissing you I stare at the cartoony

blue neon face of a moose, set over the eponymous
restaurant, and decide on self-pity
as the best solution to this knot
of complicated feelings. So much, my love,

for love; our years together recede,
taillights in the fog that’s settled in. I breathe
your familiar smell—Tuscany Per Uomo,
Camel Lights, the sweet reek of alcohol—and keep

from looking at your face, knowing
I’m still a sucker for beauty. Nearby, a man decants
a few notes from his tenor sax, honking his way
through a tune meant to be melancholy. Soon

I’ll drive home alone, weeping and raging,
the radio twisted high as I can stand it—
or else I’ll lean toward you, and tell you
any lie I think will bring you back.

And if you’re reading this, it’s been years
since then, and everything’s too late
the way it always is in songs like this,
the way it always is.



Punctured Poem Version:

Is What?

The streets fill with cabs and winos,
With the happy laughter of the very drunk;
the benches in Times Square
briefly occupied by pigeons, have been reclaimed

by homeless men who stretch out snoring under the New York Times.
We’re sitting on a cold slab
of sidewalk, and to keep myself
from punching you I stare at the cartoony

nose of the Geico Duck, set on the big screen
T.V., and decide on self-loathing
as the best solution for listening to your
inane ramblings. So much, my love,

for Chinese. Our years together fade,
barge lights in the fog that’s settled in. I breathe
your pungent smell—Onion and Garlic,
Marlboro, the sweet reek of Bud Light—and keep

from looking at your pocked face,
knowing I’m still a sucker for odd symmetry. Nearby, a penniless man attempts
a few notes from his trumpet, honking his way
through a tune meant to be lively. Soon

I’ll drive home alone, shaking with rage,
my iPod blaring high as I can stand it—
or else I’ll call you on your cell, and tell you
any lie I can think of to get rid of you.

And if you’re reading this, it’s been years
since then, and you’re still not
getting the hint in poems like this,
the way it never was.


By the way, Kim Addonizio is a living poet if you didn’t already know. Please check her out in the book-stores or your library sometime.
Thank you for checking out this new feature. As always, Wednesdays are still open to submissions from readers. You can even try your hand at Punctured Poems, just e-mail me at poethoundblogspotATyahooDOTcom.

*Don’t forget! Join the Donors Choose Challenge and help raise money for education! Go to the little “x” box where a picture should be on the right hand side titled “Donors Choose Challenge.” If you’re wondering why I haven’t donated it is because I’ve recently had some financial setbacks and I’m living off macaroni and cheese and bologna sandwiches. I intend to donate by the end of the month, and of course the end of October is when the contest ends. Please donate, it’s for an incredible cause.

I’ll see you tomorrow for another Open Submissions…

Charles Bukowski, the world is not always roses

Charles Bukowski was born in 1920 and passed away in 1994 at the age of 73. He was a cult favorite in his time and his critics thought he was offensive and lewd in his references to sex, alcohol, and violent images. However, his words are truthful, very in-your-face and he wrote like he had nothing to lose. He did not go out of his way to write in fanciful language, his poems are plain-spoken and although you might find him offensive you can’t say he was a terrible poet. Don’t worry, the poem I have selected is not heavy in pornography, violence, or profanity. There is one swear word and one violent image but the poem itself is imaginative and relateable. I feature Bukowski because he is a great poet, I own one of the books put together after his passing, and feel that he deserves a nod. I appreciate poets who are plain-spoken and say what they mean.

http://poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=179730

Thanks for reading, I will see you tomorrow for Punctured Poetry:

Donors Choose Challenge

I was just notified that donorschoose.org has issued a blogger challenge to encourage people to check out their site. I have been involved with Donors Choose before and I gladly accept this challenge.
This site is for teachers and schools across the country looking for donations for classroom projects, special trips, and much needed school supplies for struggling families. It is absolutely the BEST idea I have ever heard of. Please check them out and if you would be so kind, donate. I have selected LitLiberation for the challenge. My goal is to have viewers of this blog to raise $2,500.00 for the challenge. Go to the site listed on the right hand side as “Reading is Fundamental” just click on the “x” since the image isn’t working. Thanks!

Once you’ve browsed and hopefully donated, come back tomorrow for a poet who was and still is viewed as controversial…

Pugnacious Pinoy's Blog

As a poet hound I do so love other hounds, and pugs are adorable. Plus, pugnacious is such a fun word that doesn’t get used nearly enough in our every day language. Thus, this poet blogger has spunk. As far as I can tell, he is also a teacher and has quite the busy work week. Check him out at:
http://www.pugnaciouspinoy.blogspot.com/

Thanks for checking in, tomorrow we’ll discuss another living poet who is better known for her non-fiction and short story collection…

Poetry Tips Friday

Today I’d like to invite you to do something a little more involved than sitting down to write a poem. I want you to find a poem that you love (whether it is one you’ve written or one you’ve read) and turn it into a work of art.

There are a number of ways to do this. You could paint an image you think of while reading it, take a picture of something that reminds you of the poem. You could make a collage based on the poem, or build something if you have a workshop that reminds you of the poem. You could make a collage of various words that grab your eye in the poem, and find those words in magazines, newspaper, etc. The only limit is your imagination.

Once you have finished your project, set it out where people can ask about it, and explain what poem it came from. Maybe you’ll spark some new interest and conversation, or maybe you’ll inspire them to read poems again. Either way, you’ll have done something unique and fun.
Thanks for stopping in, see you tomorrow when we talk about a spunky blogger…

Ellipsis: Open Submissions Thursday

Act now or miss out! The open submission is only open from Aug. 1st to November 1st 2007. You need a cover letter and a contributor’s note (where else you’ve published, if applicable). I would say you should submit only if you’ve published somewhere, anywhere, at least once before. Even on the internet.
Here is the mailing address, and I wish you the best of luck:

Ellipsis Editor
Westminster College
1840 South 1300 East
Salt Lake City, UT 84105

Poet Hound and a Proposition

Proposing? So soon? Well…yes! For years populations around the world make fun of their best writers, painters, innovators, and famous people. Why not do something similar with poets and their poems? We have Weird Al who makes his own wacky lyrics to popular songs, we have Jay Leno and countless other show hosts who poke fun at the public’s captive eye, and we have folks who make products poking fun at others such as an inflateable “Scream” doll from the famous painting “The Scream.” Most of the people who are the butt of these jokes have one of two reactions: One: They LOVE it and laugh along with it. Or Two: They HATE it and immediately seek revenge.
Well, I am thinking of making my own wacky versions of poems whether they are well known or not. I will feature the original, and then my wacky version of it. A Weird Al of Poetry, if you will. Only, I would be titling it Punctured Poetry. I got the idea from my Dad who will read a poem of mine, then e-mail me a wacky version of it in return. So I thought, why not post something like this on the web? If you have any opinions on this idea, please post them or e-mail me about them. Otherwise, starting next week, I might start trying my hand at it. You will have to see…


For now, we are back to our regularly scheduled program of a Poem By Poet Hound:


Gray

Indiana is always cloudy
covered in rain, fog, snow
sometimes more rain,
or less snow, more or less
fog, sun is so scarce
our neighbors blink
disbelieving and sneezing,
they curse backwards into their
homes. After all, no one’s
seen color quite like
this but once a year
on the Fourth of July.


Please also remember that I am perfectly happy to feature poems by other readers. Whether you are a published poet or not, please feel free to post or e-mail poems for submission. As always, must be less than 50 lines, no profanity, pornography, or overtly religious poems. Thank you! Don’t forget to let me know whether you would like to see Punctured Poetry.

Gwendolyn Brooks on the South Side

Gwendolyn Brooks was born June 7th, 1917 and grew up in Chicago. She became a poet before marrying another writer, Henry L. Blakely, in 1939. They lived in the South Side of Chicago and were part of a very creative group of people including other writers, painters, and musicians. As an African American woman, she portrayed life and times witnessed outside her own windows. She also discovered the power of the press when John Sengstacke was building the Chicago Defender “into the most noted black paper in the country, where one could regularly read cutting-edge political news, poetry, and the column by Langston Hughes which began in 1942.” I have taken this information from The Essential Gwendolyn Brooks edited by Elizabeth Alexander. Sadly, Mrs. Brooks passed away in 2003 of cancer. She was and still is an influential poet.

http://poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=17315

Thank you for reading, we will meet again tomorrow for an interesting new idea I need your opinion on...

Beard of Bees Small Press Web-Site

This web-site publishes chapbooks on-line. It’s a great site because you can download all of the chapbooks for free and print them out for yourself. You can submit a collection of poems of your own to this small press in hopes of publication, and they publish more often than most small presses. If you look at their list of chapbooks, you’ll see they publish a chapbook between every month/ every other month. There were 9 chapbooks published in all for the year 2006. There is a wide variety of poems published and you will never grow bored looking through them. Once you find a favorite chapbook, print it and share it. The best part is, you can refer your friends and family to the site if you enjoy a particular poet or if you have been published yourself because all of it is available for free. Use the web-site below to check them out, and I will also add them to the Recommended Sites list. See you tomorrow for a poet who grew up in South Side Chicago…
http://www.beardofbees.com/

Ted Kooser is Pure Delight

Ted Kooser is a Pulitzer prize winner of Poetry, and I have in my hand his book Delights and Shadows which is copyrighted for 2004. I found him in the library and have heard about him through the grapevine. He was also Poet Laureate of the United States in 2004.
According to the Library of Congress,
"The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress serves as the nation's official lightning rod for the poetic impulse of Americans. During his or her term, the Poet Laureate seeks to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of poetry."

As you can see, he has a very big job in regards to bringing poetry to the public audience. I would say that is a daunting task to get paid for. How would you go about proving a wider audience? I wonder…

Anyway, Ted Kooser writes much like Billy Collins and Mary Oliver in that he does not have any heavy allusions, big complicated words, or any pretentious language. He is plain spoken in the most eloquent way possible. He is another poet you can understand right away. That makes him a great man in my book! After having picked up his book in the library I feel that the next time I’m in a book-store I’ll feel ready to take my commitment to the next level and buy a book of his poetry. I highly recommend utilizing your local library to see which poets/fiction-writers/non-fiction writers you like best before attempting to buy their work. In a perfect world, all writers would make a decent living from their ways with words. Until then, we have bloggers like me who support them by spreading the word.

http://poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=171342

*By the way, he talks about much more than just china dishes. I just happened to really like these two, and I bet it has something to do with drinking tea while reading this book. I highly recommend you look up Mr. Kooser next time you’re in a library or book-store. I think you’ll be delighted.Thank you, and see you tomorrow for another manic Monday…

Reginald Shepherd's Blog Tells it Like it Is

Reginald Shepherd is a published poet who also posts his opinion in his own blog at:
http://reginaldshepherd.blogspot.com/
He is very eloquent, much like Ron Silliman. His perspective is unique from Silliman’s just as it should be. Otherwise there’d be no need to feature him. Mr. Shepherd discusses poets, what is going on in Poetry today, how others perceive it, etc. He does not necessarily post every single day but you should check in on him regularly. I hope you find him as interesting as I do, thanks for stopping by. Tomorrow we will be discussing a living legend…