News at Eleven: The word man is reading.

Who knows if this will be his last time?

It's a Sunday afternoon at Politics and Prose in Northwest Washington, and a goodly crowd has gathered to celebrate Reed Whittemore's "Against the Grain: The Literary Life of a Poet," which was published last fall. Whittemore is the author of 20 books and a former poetry consultant to the Library of Congress, a job since renamed, more grandly, Poet Laureate.

He is also 88 years old, with a memory that has betrayed him.

from The Washington Post: Reed Whittemore, Handyman to the Muse

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News at Eleven: There is a sameness to the hundreds

of shorter poems [Philip] Whalen wrote mainly in America ("takes," he called them). A speaker addresses an absent reader in tones both plaintive and jocular, taking pleasure in beauty, fretting about day-to-day getting by, observing the inevitability of death and decay, leaving the reader with a cheerful non sequitur and flash of insight. As he self-deprecatingly put it in a poem from 1959,

I've run so far in one circle I'm
      visible now
      only from the chest upwards
Any poet who's really any good
Dances a complicated maze on top
      of the ground
      scarcely wearing out the grass

from The Nation: One Sun Roaring

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News at Eleven: [Nguyen Chi Thien:] I was put in leg shackles

in a dark cell for eight years, and I was given a tiny portion of rotten rice with salt water once a day. In those terrible conditions, it was meditation that helped me to survive the madness all around. It helped me to reach a tranquility of mind.

Also, I had great passion for poetry, so lying shackled in leg fetters, I had been concentrating all my efforts, all the power of my mind, creating poetry. It kept me alive, and helped me not to become insane. I've learned to take advantage of every adversity, every misery, so I could extract something beautiful, something useful.

from The Epoch Times: Exclusive Interview with Nguyen Chi Thien (Part II)
also The Epoch Times: Exclusive Interview with Nguyen Chi Thien (Part I)

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: [Galway] Kinnell once commented that poetry

might be the "canary in the mine-shaft."

"Of course I was thinking that one of the places and one of the ways of keeping the lovely and precious from dying out would be poetry," he says today. "I think you could extend that to: A whole culture of a country could be kept alive through poetry. So many, many people write in this country that it's quite astonishing."

from Bookslut: An Interview with Galway Kinnell

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: "More and more of my poems

have presented themselves as sites for exploring aspects of the world that I'd like to understand more fully," [Tracy K.] Smith said.

For example, the poem "Into the Moonless Night" is based on a story she read in The New York Times Magazine about four Ugandan high school girls who were abducted by rebel soldiers and forced to act as their wives, bear them children and also commit crimes. Ultimately, the women returned to their communities and had to find ways to fit in again.

from News at Princeton: Seeking the magic of poetry

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News at Eleven: And now the heavy lifting starts:

it's time to go through the poem a third time, carefully, and test our theory by looking at evidence from the text and any of the techniques or "moves" used by the poet.

Okay, in reality you can’t always read a poem three times. Still, the approach--to develop a first impression, generate a theory, and demonstrate your theory through close analysis--models purposeful reading habits and stresses the idea that a poem's meaning, as well as its beauty, doesn’t always emerge the first time through.

from PBS Teachers: Taking the Pain Out of Poetry

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: Those odd blank gaps within lines,

a frequent choice in [Grace] Paley's verse, and her paucity of capitalization and punctuation, create a somewhat E. E. Cummings effect; but then Cummings owed much to Emily Dickinson. Where Dickinson used capitals and dashes to create unexpected pauses, and thus to heighten meaning, Paley uses lowercase letters and white space. It's hard not to hear Dickinson's "I'm Nobody! Who are you?/Are you--Nobody--too?" behind Paley's untitled poem that begins "before I was nobody/I was me after/I was nobody I/was me."

from The New York Times: At the Last Minute

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: Like a golden monster

it seized his flesh, and then it sought the bone,
Ha! Ha!
And then it sought the bone.

Like "the living fleece" of her protagonist's golden hair, Helen Adam's grue is animated by primordial femaleness. Even when monstrous acts are committed by the men in her verses, they are driven by and against the femme fatale's generative power. The collages she made (some of which are reproduced in the Reader and the DVD) show coiffed models from advertising pages juxtaposed with insects and rodents--the teeming life of the earth.

from The Nation: A Nurse of Enchantment

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: Based on court documents

as well as interviews with [Paul] Bailey and five of the abused women, the collection of 81 poems explores the experiences of [Charles] Sylvestre's victims.

"I want it to be a unique voice for the women," says [Mary Ann] Mulhern. "Court documents are very factual, dry. I'm hoping the imagery of the poetry will have a heavy impact on the reader."

from The Windsor Star: 'Angels are weeping'

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven (Back Page): After the plane landed,

a young woman sitting behind her got on her cell phone, then exclaimed, "Oh, my God, there's been a shooting at Virginia Tech."

"And she said, 'Oh, my God, 21 people!' " [Nikki] Giovanni recalls. "And we all turned, you know, and to the person we all said, 'Oh, no, that must be, it must mean one or two, and somebody got two and one mixed up.' "

Inside the terminal, televisions confirmed the news. Only it was worse.

from The Virginian-Pilot: Tech professor reflects on tragedy

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: The Camps

By Shirley Rickett

from John Mark Eberhart: Parachute: The Camps

~~~~~~~~~~~

Life Everlasting

By J. Richard Callahan

from John Mark Eberhart: Parachute: Life and everything after

~~~~~~~~~~~

I'd appreciate feedback, as we did for H.C. Palmer recently. Couple of things: This poem may figure into a new book concept I'm developing called "Some Kind of Superman." It's about aging disgracefully, I guess. Also, this is a sonnet, and as many of you know, I mostly stick to free verse.--JME

Channeling Clark Kent
By John Mark Eberhart

from John Mark Eberhart: Parachute: Poetry Lab II

~~~~~~~~~~~

A Birthday
By Michelle Boisseau

from John Mark Eberhart: Parachute: Say, it's Boisseau

~~~~~~~~~~~

Sonnet for Tatiana
By Timothy Pettet

from John Mark Eberhart: Parachute: SpringTim

~~~~~~~~~~~

Controlled Burn
By Kathleen Johnson

from John Mark Eberhart: Parachute: A Woodley fire

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: A garden is not a jungle, even though

we like to use the word to indicate a wild tangle of neglect. In a jungle there is a continual process of growth and destruction: dead wood keeps falling from the canopy, and one is well advised, during any high wind in the rain-forest, to make for open ground, to seek safety on the river bank. There is continual destruction and continual renewal.

from James Fenton: The Guardian: Come into the garden

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Great Regulars: He colorfully expresses that idea,

by describing the "petal" as wafting through the air "till it settles/On [her] hair."

The image of a petal on hair paints a delicate picture that his love will have created, that is, if she does, indeed, find one of them "fair." He makes no account for the possibility that none of them will connect with her, so he must feel confident in his creations as well as his wife's taste.

from Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Oscar Wilde's 'To My Wife'

~~~~~~~~~~~

The selfish hippy-sixties that brought moral equivalency and degeneracy to an entire generation began with Ginsberg's "Howl." This speaker delivers a moral judgment that attempts to mitigate that debauchery, even if it cannot obliterate it.

from Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Sedam's 'Desafinado'

~~~~~~~~~~~

This speaker is happiest when he is thinking of love; he is most content when he is creating his sonnet worlds that hold his love, precious letters from his soul. The impediment of the beast of burden, horse-like body, cannot hold sway over the immortal soul.

from Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Shakespeare Sonnet 51

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: 11. I want to urge my fellow Tibetans

who live in freedom outside Tibet to be extra vigilant as they voice their feelings on the developments in Tibet. We should not engage in any action that could be even remotely interpreted as violent. Even under the most provocative of situations we must not allow our most precious and deeply held values to be compromised. I firmly believe that we will achieve success through our non-violent path. We must be wise to understand where the unprecedented affection and support for our cause stems from.

12. As Tibet is currently virtually closed and no international media is allowed there, I doubt my message will reach the Tibetans in Tibet. But I hope through media and by word of mouth, it will be passed on to the majority of you.

from Tenzin Gyatso: The Office of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama: Statement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to All Tibetans

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: "Katyusha Rockets" is the title

of a handful of powerful, image-searing works that [Brian] Turner read at the International Poetry Forum's season finale.

The poem follows the rocket's trail from Iraq to the United States, a symbol of how the fear of death remains in the veteran's mind after coming home:

Rockets often fall
in the night sky of the skull, down long avenues
of the brain's myelin sheathing, over synapses
and the rough structures of thought . . .

from Bob Hoover: Post-Gazette: Brian Turner reading launches Poetry Month

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: As an audiophile he is a man

who enjoys the reproduction of sound. His tractor, the weather and the noises of the birds and insects are the improvised music that he listens to, mixed in the field that is his own sound studio.

I have often wanted to bug our three dogs with a camera and mike.

from Frieda Hughes: The Times: Monday Poem: The farmer has his day--twice

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: by Mick Imlah

I'm not suggesting he was Oscar Wilde . . .
(Archibald Primrose, 1847–)

from Mick Imlah: The Times Literary Supplement: Poem of the Week: Rosebery: A new poem by Mick Imlah

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: At the end,

"what cannot stay small forever" becomes not just the size of Spokane, but the pin dot of light that a near-death survivor swims toward.

[Heather] McHugh's new elegy begins at the graveside, where she has added three spades of earth, rather than the two everyone else hefts.

Not to Be Dwelled On

from Mary Karr: The Washington Post: Poet's Choice

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Poem: "We Bring Democracy To The Fish"

by Donald Hall, from White Apples and the Taste of Stone.

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: For the week of April 7, 2008

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Putting bed pillows onto the grass

to freshen, it's a pretty humble subject for a poem, but look how Kentucky poet, Frank Steele, deftly uses a sun-warmed pillow to bring back the comfort and security of childhood.

Part of a Legacy

from Ted Kooser: American Life in Poetry: Column 158

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Great Regulars: Then comes the true action

of the poem: penance. The narrator counts his "sins" and hopes for forgiveness. He sees his yard as a "stony patch of garden" not too distant from Eden. He stresses his audit of "pleasures," including the volunteer weeds.

Klieg Lights

from Denise Low: Ad Astra Poetry Project: Thomas Zvi Wilson (1931 - )

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Why do we wish to attribute this

phenomenon to skill, talent or attendance at the Iowa Writers Workshop when it's something much bigger than that and defies all rational explanation?

I can confirm that when I was writing some of my best and most inspired work I felt as if I was under the influence of some greater power. It was indeed like "taking dictation."

from Anthony Maulucci: Norwich Bulletin: Semantic line exists between insanity, inspiration

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Following months of increasing financial troubles

for the Mount, Edith Wharton's home in Lenox, Mass., the president of the organization that owns and maintains the property has resigned rather than accept a new position in a restructured management, trustees said. Under the president, Stephanie Copeland, the Mount was restored to much the way it was when Wharton built it in 1902, and it won several awards for preservation.

from Charles McGrath: The New York Times: Leader Quits at the Mount, Former Home of Wharton

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: [Sinéad Morrissey] has collected

an impressive array of awards for her work and is considered to be one of a gifted new generation of Northern Irish poets under 40.

Through the Square Window

from Carol Rumens: The Guardian: theblogbooks: Poem of the week

~~~~~~~~~~~

(New to) Great Regulars: [Deborah Bogen's] work has been featured twice

on Poetry Daily and twice on Verse Daily. One of her poems has been chosen by Poetry Daily for inclusion in their new hardcopy anthology. Her chapbook, Living by the Children's Cemetery, was chosen by Edward Hirsch as the winner of the 2002 ByLine Press Competition and her full-length collection, Landscape with Silos, was a National Poetry Series finalist in 2004 and won the 2005 X.J. Kennedy Poetry Prize (judged by Betty Adcock). Landscape with Silos, was released by Texas Review Press in August 2006

from Belinda Subraman Presents: Deborah Bogen: author of Landscape with Silos

~~~~~~~~~~~

[Fleda Brown] has read and lectured in secondary schools, retirement communities, libraries, bookstores, a prison for delinquent adolescents, Rotary Clubs, AAUWs, and many universities and colleges, from Oxford University, London, to small liberal arts colleges. She has slept in a bunkhouse and has read with cowboy poets in North Dakota, and she has read for the Governor of Delaware and for the Delaware Legislature.

from Belinda Subraman Presents: Fleda Brown: Delaware Poet Laureate 2001-2007

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: One reads fiction and poetry,

one attends plays--Bill [William J. Lynch Sr.] was big on theater--in order to learn how to observe life better in order to live it well. He taught the course in Chaucer and I can still remember him pointing out that we've all met the Wife of Bath--and so we have; in fact, I believe she was my grandmother.

from Frank Wilson: Books Inq.: The Epilogue: In memoriam . . .

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Elusive thoughts at Midnight

by Mirza A. Beg

from The American Muslim: Poetry: Elusive thoughts at Midnight

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: by Dana Ward

Le Cupcake

from The Brooklyn Rail: Poetry: "Le Cupcake," "Castaway"



~~~~~~~~~~~

by Hoa Nguyen

Fraying

from The Brooklyn Rail: Poetry: Three Poems



~~~~~~~~~~~

Untitled Soap Bubble
by Rod Smith

from The Brooklyn Rail: Poetry: Untitled Soap Bubble


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Great Regulars: Translation

by Gillian Clarke

from The Guardian: The Saturday poem: Translation by Gillian Clarke

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Auld Lang Syne

by Emily Moore

from The New Yorker: Poetry: Auld Lang Syne

~~~~~~~~~~~

In the New York Public Library
by Michael Longley

from The New Yorker: Poetry: In the New York Public Library

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Listen to Carly Sachs read her poems

Clarification
Postcard from Cristina
Winter

from Nextbook: Three Poems

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: --Lucille Clifton,

St. Mary's City, Md.

[homage to my hips]

from The Oregonian: Poetry

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: By Brendan DeVoue

Dream

from The Philadelphia Inquirer: Your Poem: [by Brendan DeVoue]

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: [by Theresa Mayo]

My Husband, Sweetheart, Best Friend, He's Amazing

from Portsmouth Herald News: Poem: My Husband, Sweetheart, Best Friend, He's Amazing

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: "Triumph"

By Alan Shapiro

from Slate: "Triumph"--By Alan Shapiro

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: Meykhana (rhymed poetry recited

to a distinct rhythmic pattern) singer Agasalim Childag died at the age of 78 this morning.

from Azeri-Press Agency: Azerbaijani meykhana singer Agasalim Childag dies

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: Jennifer Clark described her brother [Joshua Clark]

as spontaneous and often ready to leave for a family fishing trip to a nearby pond. She also called her brother a very musical person who enjoyed writing poems and song lyrics along with playing the tunes from the late Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of the band Nirvana.

"Music was his life," Jennifer Clark said. "If he had a guitar in his hand he was happy."

from The Dothan Eagle: Stabbing victim's relatives remember good times

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: [Ellen] Craswell also enjoyed visiting

with friends, spending time with family and writing poetry, a hobby she learned as a young girl from her grandmother.

She also kept a close eye on the politics that once filled her life.

from Kitsap Sun: Longtime Legislator Ellen Craswell Dies at 75

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: [Betty G. "Liz" Evans] had a great appreciation

for literature. She was an avid reader and could always be found with a book by Agatha Christie, Lillian Braun, Dick Francis or James Herriot. She enjoyed poetry, both reading and writing. She often created various crafts or decoupage projects associated with her poetry.

from The News-Herald: Betty G. "Liz" Evans

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: Hazel Haley, the Lakeland High School

English teacher thought to have been the longest-serving teacher in the country, died at her home Monday, friends said. She was 91. Haley retired in May 2006 after a 69-year career as an English teacher, 67 of those at Lakeland High.

from The Ledger: Hazel Haley, Polk Teacher of 69 Years, Dies at 91

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: [Blair] Holt was shot

to death last May on a CTA bus. He wrote poetry and rap music and even recorded some of his songs.

from abc7chicago.com: Shooting victim remembered

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Poetic Obituaries: After earning a master's degree in English literature

from Boston College, he [William J. Lynch Sr.] taught at Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia and North Penn High School in Lansdale. He then taught at St. Joseph's College while earning a doctorate in English literature at the University of Pennsylvania.

from The Philadelphia Inquirer: William J. Lynch Sr.: English professor, 77

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Poetic Obituaries: At Kent State University, where he taught

English from 1954 to 1979, Dr. [Edgar] McCormick made many friends throughout the years.

"When I came here 35 years ago, I was delighted to find a poet so eloquent," said Harold Walker, a former pastor at the Kent Presbyterian Church, where McCormick and his wife Cora Lee attended before she died last year. "He could speak about sadness, and at the same time about brightness--he could remind us that life was not simple."

from Bedford Times Register: Dr. Edgar McCormick had passion for poetry

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: The VPR Poem of the Week is Rochelle Ratner's

"Fish Tank," a prose poem which appeared in the Fall/Winter 2004-2005 issue (Volume VI, Number 1) of Valparaiso Poetry Review.

Rochelle Ratner, who passed away March 31st at the age of 59, was the author of sixteen collections of poetry, including Practicing to Be a Woman: New and Selected Poems (Scarecrow Press, 1982), Someday Songs (BkMk Press, 1992), House and Home (Marsh Hawk Press, 2003), and Balancing Acts (Marsh Hawk Press, 2006), which was a finalist for the Milt Kessler Book Award.

from One Poet's Notes: Remembering Rochelle Ratner: "Fish Tank"

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Poetic Obituaries: Reading the poem, I can picture

the kind, smiling face of the child's mother, who must be rather plump.

Takumi Nishiyama, who wrote the poem, was murdered Tuesday at his home in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture. He was 9. His mother, 30, who admitted to strangling him with an electric cord, was arrested.

from The Asahi Shimbun: Why would a parent want to kill their child?

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Poetic Obituaries: Well versed and talented in watercolor

painting, photography, poetry and playwriting, Anna [V. Salerno] was published in the London Book of Anthology, published the book titled, "Love is in the Wind," wrote a book of poems titled "Me, Myself Alone," which was comprised of her poetry from 1955 to 2000, wrote the poem, "Shape of a Question," for which she received an award and wrote the poem for the 1974 Chittenango High School commencement. She received personal correspondence from the late Richard M. Nixon for her poem on his peacemaking journey to China and was active as a Girl Scout troop leader and literacy volunteer.

from The Oneida Daily Dispatch: Anna V. Salerno

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: [Anwar] Solangi also published a book

under his name called 'Wateyoo Veh Gadroo' ('Dishes of Poison'), which includes his collection of articles which were published in various newspapers, his poetry and his essays based on his personal life.

An interesting, yet tragic point in his life came, when he was removed from his regular job as a staff artiste from Radio Pakistan, when Z.A Bhutto was hanged to death and at the same time, he played sad songs.

from The International News: 'Makhno' passes away

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: Sylvia [Thompson] quickly introduced me

into new age therapies such as Reiki and ancient wisdom written by long hard to pronounce names. Soon after meeting we recorded our poetry together, did podcasts about poetry and life. She published a book, In The Garden of Illness, did a book signing at Barnes and Nobles. I enlisted an artist friend to write a book review which appeared in the El Paso Times. She taught a writing workshop for Tumblewords. I made a web site for her. Ironically, she said she had to be dying to feel this alive!

from Belinda Subraman: The Gift of Sylvia

~~~~~~~~~~~

April 1st Poetic Ticker Clicking

News Article Tape: (ragline)___BBC News: Clarke named Wales national poet___(ragline)___The Bwog: The Writer of Words___(ragline)___The Times Literary Supplement: John Ashbery, a poet for our times___(ragline)___phillyburbs.com: An interview with poet Jorie Graham___(ragline)___The New Yorker: Fast Company___(ragline)___The New York Review of Books: A Great American Visionary___(ragline)___The Herald: If only all writers could speak out like MacDiarmid___(ragline)___The New York Times: Japanese Poetry Persists in Korea, Despite Disapproval___(ragline)___Star Tribune: Patricia Smith: A slam poet with punch___(ragline)___Insight News: Powerhouse poet Patricia Smith's gift is genius___(ragline)___The Guardian: Lightning from skies___(ragline)___The Guardian: A man's best friends___(ragline)___Fatima Bhutto: CNN: TalkAsia: Waiting for Death___(ragline)___Fatima Bhutto: CNN: TalkAsia: The Bhutto Assassination___(ragline)___Fatima Bhutto: CNN: TalkAsia: To Keep Surviving___(ragline)___Sarah Crown: The Guardian: The banana of God___(ragline)___John Mark Eberhart: The Kansas City Star: Smaller companies are flowering with new voices, new books___(ragline)___John Mark Eberhart: Parachute: Andrea Hollander Budy___(ragline)___John Mark Eberhart: Parachute: Listen___(ragline)___John Mark Eberhart: Parachute: Out like a lion___(ragline)___John Mark Eberhart: Parachute: Softly, softly . . .___(ragline)___John Mark Eberhart: Parachute: Unrhymin' Simon___(ragline)___James Fenton: The Guardian: Purloined pictures___(ragline)___John Freeman: The Guardian: theblogbooks: Has reading about books replaced the real thing?___(ragline)___Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Paramahansa Yogananda's Gita___(ragline)___Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Shakespeare Sonnet 50___(ragline)___Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Wordsworth's 'The Idiot Boy'___(ragline)___Tenzin Gyatso: The Office of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama: An Appeal to the Chinese People___(ragline)___Frieda Hughes: The Times: Monday Poem: Peace everlasting___(ragline)___Mary Karr: The Washington Post: Poet's Choice: Louise Gluck--Exacting Beauty___(ragline)___Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: For the week of March 31st, 2008___(ragline)___Ted Kooser: American Life in Poetry: Column 157___(ragline)___Charles McGrath: The New York Times: Robert Fagles, Translator of the Classics, Dies at 74___(ragline)___Luisetta Mudie: Radio Free Asia: Bao Tong: Talk To The Dalai Lama___(ragline)___David Orr: The New York Times: In Memoriam___(ragline)___Carol Rumens: The Guardian: theblogbooks: Poem of the week___(ragline)___V Sundaram: News Today: An apostle of Tamil scientific writings-II___(ragline)___Frank Wilson: Philadelphia Inquirer: One man's faith survives brutal trials___(ragline)___Good Times Weekly: Poetry Corner: Poetic Justice___(ragline)___Good Times Weekly: Poetry Corner: Poetry by Ric Masten___(ragline)___The Guardian: The Saturday poem: Subject to Limitation by Stephen Romer___(ragline)___Guernica: Poetry: Three Poems___(ragline)___The New Yorker: Poetry: The Diener___(ragline)___The New Yorker: Poetry: Integer___(ragline)___The Philadelphia Inquirer: Your Poem: [by John P. Baxter]___(ragline)___The Philadelphia Inquirer: Your Poem: [by Amy Eichling]___(ragline)___Portsmouth Herald News: Poem: Clear___(ragline)___The Scotsman: Poem of the Week: Norman Bissell___(ragline)___Slate: "Oh Blessed Season" --By Chris Forhan___(ragline)___Zeek: Yiddish Poems by Boris Karloff___(ragline)___Telegraph: Hugo Claus___(ragline)___The Ypsilanti Courier: Former columnist for Courier dies at 58___(ragline)___TV3: Southern poet Ruth Dallas one of New Zealand's most prolific regional writers___(ragline)___Variety: Director Jules Dassin dies at 96___(ragline)___News at Princeton: Robert Fagles, celebrated translator of ancient epics, dies at age 74___(ragline)___Williams Lake Tribune: Bert Hogman remembered by loving family___(ragline)___Thaindian News: Malayalam poet Kadammanitta passes away___(ragline)___Galway Advertiser: Maureen Kenny--the doyenne of Galway booksellers passes away___(ragline)___Manchester Evening News: Sophie--always individual___(ragline)___The Philadelphia Inquirer: John Albert Moberly: Chemical engineer, 89___(ragline)___Oxford Mail: Fiancee's tribute to stabbing victim___(ragline)___Adweek: Ad Legend Hal Riney Dies at 75___(ragline)___The Philadelphia Inquirer: Joy Hurshman Rose: Playwright, 80___(ragline)___The Daily Texan: Slatin made Web pages accessible___(ragline)___KHAS-TV: Community mourns loss of Henderson teen___(ragline)___Smoky Mountain News: Jonathan Williams: 1929-2008___(ragline)___Bucks County Courier Times: Joan V. Wyrauch-Kelly, was one of 21 children___

Blog Entry Tape: (ragline)___BBC News: Clarke named Wales national poet___(ragline)___The Bwog: The Writer of Words___(ragline)___The Times Literary Supplement: John Ashbery, a poet for our times___(ragline)___phillyburbs.com: An interview with poet Jorie Graham___(ragline)___The New Yorker: Fast Company___(ragline)___The New York Review of Books: A Great American Visionary___(ragline)___The Herald: If only all writers could speak out like MacDiarmid___(ragline)___The New York Times: Japanese Poetry Persists in Korea, Despite Disapproval___(ragline)___Star Tribune: Patricia Smith: A slam poet with punch___(ragline)___Insight News: Powerhouse poet Patricia Smith's gift is genius___(ragline)___The Guardian: Lightning from skies___(ragline)___The Guardian: A man's best friends___(ragline)___Fatima Bhutto: CNN: TalkAsia: Waiting for Death___(ragline)___Fatima Bhutto: CNN: TalkAsia: The Bhutto Assassination___(ragline)___Fatima Bhutto: CNN: TalkAsia: To Keep Surviving___(ragline)___Sarah Crown: The Guardian: The banana of God___(ragline)___John Mark Eberhart: The Kansas City Star: Smaller companies are flowering with new voices, new books___(ragline)___John Mark Eberhart: Parachute: Andrea Hollander Budy___(ragline)___John Mark Eberhart: Parachute: Listen___(ragline)___John Mark Eberhart: Parachute: Out like a lion___(ragline)___John Mark Eberhart: Parachute: Softly, softly . . .___(ragline)___John Mark Eberhart: Parachute: Unrhymin' Simon___(ragline)___James Fenton: The Guardian: Purloined pictures___(ragline)___John Freeman: The Guardian: theblogbooks: Has reading about books replaced the real thing?___(ragline)___Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Paramahansa Yogananda's Gita___(ragline)___Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Shakespeare Sonnet 50___(ragline)___Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Wordsworth's 'The Idiot Boy'___(ragline)___Tenzin Gyatso: The Office of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama: An Appeal to the Chinese People___(ragline)___Frieda Hughes: The Times: Monday Poem: Peace everlasting___(ragline)___Mary Karr: The Washington Post: Poet's Choice: Louise Gluck--Exacting Beauty___(ragline)___Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: For the week of March 31st, 2008___(ragline)___Ted Kooser: American Life in Poetry: Column 157___(ragline)___Charles McGrath: The New York Times: Robert Fagles, Translator of the Classics, Dies at 74___(ragline)___Luisetta Mudie: Radio Free Asia: Bao Tong: Talk To The Dalai Lama___(ragline)___David Orr: The New York Times: In Memoriam___(ragline)___Carol Rumens: The Guardian: theblogbooks: Poem of the week___(ragline)___V Sundaram: News Today: An apostle of Tamil scientific writings-II___(ragline)___Frank Wilson: Philadelphia Inquirer: One man's faith survives brutal trials___(ragline)___Good Times Weekly: Poetry Corner: Poetic Justice___(ragline)___Good Times Weekly: Poetry Corner: Poetry by Ric Masten___(ragline)___The Guardian: The Saturday poem: Subject to Limitation by Stephen Romer___(ragline)___Guernica: Poetry: Three Poems___(ragline)___The New Yorker: Poetry: The Diener___(ragline)___The New Yorker: Poetry: Integer___(ragline)___The Philadelphia Inquirer: Your Poem: [by John P. Baxter]___(ragline)___The Philadelphia Inquirer: Your Poem: [by Amy Eichling]___(ragline)___Portsmouth Herald News: Poem: Clear___(ragline)___The Scotsman: Poem of the Week: Norman Bissell___(ragline)___Slate: "Oh Blessed Season" --By Chris Forhan___(ragline)___Zeek: Yiddish Poems by Boris Karloff___(ragline)___Telegraph: Hugo Claus___(ragline)___The Ypsilanti Courier: Former columnist for Courier dies at 58___(ragline)___TV3: Southern poet Ruth Dallas one of New Zealand's most prolific regional writers___(ragline)___Variety: Director Jules Dassin dies at 96___(ragline)___News at Princeton: Robert Fagles, celebrated translator of ancient epics, dies at age 74___(ragline)___Williams Lake Tribune: Bert Hogman remembered by loving family___(ragline)___Thaindian News: Malayalam poet Kadammanitta passes away___(ragline)___Galway Advertiser: Maureen Kenny--the doyenne of Galway booksellers passes away___(ragline)___Manchester Evening News: Sophie--always individual___(ragline)___The Philadelphia Inquirer: John Albert Moberly: Chemical engineer, 89___(ragline)___Oxford Mail: Fiancee's tribute to stabbing victim___(ragline)___Adweek: Ad Legend Hal Riney Dies at 75___(ragline)___The Philadelphia Inquirer: Joy Hurshman Rose: Playwright, 80___(ragline)___The Daily Texan: Slatin made Web pages accessible___(ragline)___KHAS-TV: Community mourns loss of Henderson teen___(ragline)___Smoky Mountain News: Jonathan Williams: 1929-2008___(ragline)___Bucks County Courier Times: Joan V. Wyrauch-Kelly, was one of 21 children___

April 1st forum announcement

Dear Poetry Aficionados,

Poetry & Poets in Rags


Wales has a new National Poet. This is where we begin in a huge week for poetry news, part of the reason I am so delayed and keeping it short. Please be sure to check out the Poetic Obituaries, where much of the news in poetry is the week.

We have two new Great Regulars to add, and I feel I should apologize for missing them for so long: The Dalai Lama and poet Tenzin Gyatso, who periodically issues important news releases from his web site, this week giving his views on, among other things, the Beijing Olympics; and Carol Rumens who has been bringing us the poem of the week from theblogbooks, a must read for us poetry aficionados as well.

Thanks for clicking in.

Yours,
Rus

Our links:

IBPC: Poetry & Poets in Rags

Poetry & Poets in Rags blog

IBPC Home

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News at Eleven: Gillian Clarke, a familiar name

to GCSE and A Level students and teachers alike, is Wales' third national poet.

Clarke succeeds Professor Gwyn Thomas in the role whose first incumbent was Gwyneth Lewis, the writer of the words on the Wales Millennium Centre.

from BBC News: Clarke named Wales national poet

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News at Eleven: B&W [The Blue and White]: Are you ever treated like a celebrity?

MS [Mark Strand]: Yes. Not here so much, but in Italy, and Spain. Other countries. Because they're smaller countries and here I've been around a long time so I'm sort of old hat, but there, in the last 10 years or so, so much of my stuff has been translated and published I'm sort of a new item. So I'm treated very much like a celebrity. Especially in Italy. They've even made a movie of me. It's an hour-long documentary. It's going to be done in May.

from The Bwog: The Writer of Words

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News at Eleven: No one can prove that [John] Ashbery's

poems mean anything. But no one can prove that your life means anything, either: on a good day, you feel able to keep on living it, as John Ashbery has kept on writing, following a plan where a plan seems to fit, but otherwise making it up as you go.

from The Times Literary Supplement: John Ashbery, a poet for our times

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News at Eleven: My love for it has never been so directed.

I can take nothing for granted. Creation astonishes me where it used to "just" delight me. In many ways this book is an attempt to describe to a future people what is was like to have water, to have seasons, to know what blossoming was and a daybreak where one did not fear the sun, or a heavy wind where one did not fear its' going "too far," beyond normal. What is normal, I have kept wondering. Where is the tipping point? [--Jorie Graham]

from phillyburbs.com: An interview with poet Jorie Graham

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News at Eleven: If you write ninety poems

in the course of a few months, you probably mean something different by the word "poem" from what most people mean. O'Hara didn't introspect or recollect much. His poems lacked the formal appliqué of rhyme and meter, and, where most poets deposited words with an eyedropper, O'Hara sprayed them through a fire hose.

from The New Yorker: Fast Company

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