News at Eleven: Poet Nazım Hikmet’s citizenship is restored

58 years after it was revoked and 46 years after he died. Considered one of Turkey's first modern poets, Hikmet's patriotism and rich use of free verse earned him the esteem of artists, intellectuals and champions of freedom of expression.

Born during the twilight years of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey’s most renowned poet spent many of the first years of the Turkish Republic resisting against the state. For much of that time, as his poems gained international acclaim, the outspoken communist languished behind bars.

from Hurriyet Daily News: Poems of freedom from behind iron bars, exile

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: But the revered Scots poet Robert Burns

was openly discussing republican sentiments in the last months of his life, risking punitive action for challenging the authority of the king, an expert in Scottish literature has found.

In a biography to mark the 250th anniversary of Burns's birth, Prof Robert Crawford of St Andrews University has unearthed new evidence which he believes is conclusive proof that Burns was a democrat who sympathised with the French revolution.

from The Guardian: Burns was a republican fan of French revolution, says expert

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: [Brenda] Wineapple's subtle strategy

is not to explain [Emily] Dickinson, but to remind us that she "sang to relieve a palsy". Dickinson did not specify the locus of her palsy, but Wineapple hints that it was her very selfhood--consciousness itself--that hurt. And though grateful to be "one's self & not somebody else", Dickinson could not and would not endure the keen ache of being her fathomless self alone.

from The Times Literary Supplement: Emily Dickinson and other hummingbirds

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: After reading the poem, I agreed

with this assessment until I read the opinions of Thomas Jefferson, who thought she was "below the dignity of criticism," Amiri Baraka, who found her "ludicrous," and Seymour Gross, who thought she was a female "Uncle Tom."

"That's harsh," I thought. "Did any of her critics even consider the possibility that this young slave might have been writing from behind the walls of irony? What would the poem look like if I became her third-person narrator with limited omniscience?"

from OfficialWire: Letter From SC: Reading Between Poet Phillis Wheatley's Lines

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven: But now such literary greats as Coleridge,

Shelley and Browning have disappeared from school exams to be replaced by more modern writers like Hornby (Nick) and Palin (Michael).

Dead poets and authors who are central figures in the canon of English literature are no longer being featured in GCSE papers, according to new research by Cambridge Assessment, the school examinations arm of Cambridge University.

And as they lose their place in exam syllabuses to more contemporary text, their study is dying out in schools.

from Telegraph: Michael Palin replaces Alexander Pope in English lessons

~~~~~~~~~~~

News at Eleven (Back Page): "We called our experiments 'Psychicbread'--

a conspiracy to fuse poetry, film and music. For us the name meant food for the soul, food for the head. It was the stuff that kept us up 'til dawn talking like there was no tomorrow and stalking the streets absorbing the atmospheres and secret life of the city at night.

"Our work was an attempt to distil our wonderings and visions: the hints and whispers that something more was happening just below the surface. The poems and films Plasticman, It's Only Water, Alien Love, Possession, Alien Rave! and most recently The Message are all experiments in tragic-comedy, magic-realism and, most of all, our collective stupidity." [--Mark Gwynne Jones]

from The Guardian: Interview: Mark Gwynne Jones

~~~~~~~~~~~

(New to) Great Regulars: As the critic Harold Bloom succinctly puts it,

"Keats wants to be as steadfast as the star, but not in the sense of the solitude of the star's steadfastness". Lines 2-8 describe the star's steadfastness, which is, above all, one of solitude as hinted by its hanging in "lone splendour", and the poet calls the Star an "Eremite," or hermit. Keats says that it rests "aloft the night," meaning both in the night sky and above the night sky.

from Bhaskar Banerjee: Merinews: Keat's monument of the soul's magnificence

~~~~~~~~~~~

She dreams that her parents are seated on two chairs against a table. Since in dreams no doubts can exist, she sees them as real-life figures, faintly aware also at the back of her consciousness that they are not, as suggested by the word 'again' alive for her. To her, the faces long since lost, appear so immensely adorable with the light of living that even as the time is one of progressive falling of darkness, with the setting sun at dusk, they glow; and the radiance that shone with brightness on their countenance, she imagines, were fit for a painting by Rembrandt.

from Bhaskar Banerjee: Merinews: A dream reality . . . !

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: It is seeking what's between words,

what's not public. It's seeking what sometimes can't even be pinned down as a definite emotion.

Elizabeth Alexander, the poet commissioned to write the inaugural poem for Obama, said, "the pressure--the challenge--is to write a poem that can serve . . . all of those expectant, gathered millions and to let the poem be what calms my nerves when I am up there." My good wishes are with her in this daunting task.

from Fleda Brown: Traverse City Record-Eagle: On Poetry: Inaugural poems

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Drawing on the sensibilities of the European poets--

Goethe, Michaux, Hölderlin--whose work he knows so intimately, [David] Constantine's humane and serious volume weighs the life of the individual against the crash and tumble of the wider world and finds in favour of the subtler forces and complexities of the former.

from Sarah Crown: The Guardian: Treats in store for 2009

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: "I don't know what I'd do with my mornings

if I didn't write in them," [John] Updike says in a telephone interview from his home in Beverly, Mass. "There are pleasures to writing--you kind of get out a lot of your bad secretions. You can purge yourself of them through writing. And there's still some market for what I have to say.

from John Mark Eberhart: The Kansas City Star: Writing too enjoyable for John Updike to consider retirement

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: A serene death, "an undustful death"

is also suitable. Such a death would leave a body without bullet holes "in our shirts" and "no evidence in our ribs." The body would be whole and untouched, not maimed and battered as those who invite such atrocities in the name of their cause.

from Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Barghouti's It's also Fine

~~~~~~~~~~~

The speaker repeats his trinity, "Fair, kind, and true," a third time, as he remarks that ordinary use of these terms defines them separately, but in his cosmogony they create a new reality that until he had thought them into being has never combined to craft the one that he now sustains.

from Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Shakespeare Sonnet 105

~~~~~~~~~~~

He then dramatically proclaims that after they vanish, they exist only "behind the cosmic screen." They do not cease to exist, however; they merely change "their displayed coats."

Instead of the physical world mayic drama of sight and sound, these once worldly presences become "quiet" for they are "concealed." But the important, uplifting thought that accompanies the spiritual reality of all phenomena is that they do not truly vanish; they "remain."

from Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Yogananda's "Vanishing Bubbles"

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Your mission, Linwood,

if you choose to accept it, is to write an apocalyptic poem about the space debris problem that is so powerful it begins a change. It has to be so good that it inundates the mainstream, warrants translation into all the world languages, and terrifies the globe. All international leaders need to be compelled to work together, with a team of scientists, and solve this problem, and it's your job to make this problem a priority.

from Kristen Hoggart: The Smart Set: Ask a Poet: Space Invaders

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: [Toi Derricotte] believes that [Elizabeth] Alexander "is the right

kind of poet for Barack Obama. She's very clear and intellectual in her poems, not abstract, but she makes you think about complex subjects." Derricotte added:

"Reading one of her poems is a lot like reading the newspaper. They have that sense of immediacy about them."

Reached later, Michael S. Harper, one of the nation's most esteemed poets and teachers and a 2005 Pulitzer judge, said he had put a lot of Alexander's work into anthologies he has edited and added, "She's splendid."

from Bob Hoover: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Obama's inaugural poet called 'splendid'

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Pretty much any spiritual practice,

whether religious in the formal sense (Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, etc.) or purely secular (counting breaths, a centering prayer), finds divinity in contemplation. To become fully alive, we must still our chaotic desires. The poems of Greek-born poet Tryfon Tolides work almost like mini-meditations, bringing us to a sweet, nameless emptiness.

Calling

Come to the point where, finally, you are lost,

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

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Denmark, Kangaroo, Orange

by Kevin Griffith

Pick a number from one to ten. Okay, now multiply that number

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Denmark, Kangaroo, Orange by Kevin Griffith

~~~~~~~~~~~

Illustrated Guide to Familiar American Trees
by Charlie Smith

I don't get it about the natural world.

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Illustrated Guide to Familiar American Trees by Charlie Smith

~~~~~~~~~~~

In the Produce Aisle
by Kirsten Dierking

In the vivid red

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: In the Produce Aisle by Kirsten Dierking

~~~~~~~~~~~

Night Flight
by George Bilgere

Quietly
by Kenneth Rexroth

Night Flight

I am doing laps at night, alone

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Night Flight by George Bilgere Quietly by Kenneth Rexroth

~~~~~~~~~~~

The Palomino Stallion
by Alden Nowlan

Though the barn is so warm

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: The Palomino Stallion by Alden Nowlan

~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunday Morning
by Tom Sexton

Come down and do your crossword. I worry

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Sunday Morning by Tom Sexton

~~~~~~~~~~~

What To Do the First Morning the Sun Comes Back
by Roseann Lloyd

from Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: What To Do the First Morning the Sun Comes Back by Roseann Lloyd

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: As she [Hannah Arendt] wrote in 1941, "One truth

that is unfamiliar to the Jewish people, though they are beginning to learn it, is that you can only defend yourself as the person you are attacked as. A person attacked as a Jew cannot defend himself as an Englishman or Frenchman. The world would only conclude that he is simply not defending himself." That was why Arendt strongly urged the creation of a Jewish army, which would enable the Jews to hold up their heads as equals among the Allied powers.

from Adam Kirsch: The New Yorker: Beware of Pity

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: I suspect that one thing some people have

against reading poems is that they are so often so serious, so devoid of joy, as if we poets spend all our time brooding about mutability and death and never having any fun. Here Cornelius Eady, who lives and teaches in Indiana, offers us a poem of pure pleasure.

A Small Moment

from Ted Kooser: American Life in Poetry: Column 197

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Tracy Smith and Linda Pastan poetry reading

at the Folger next week. I've almost finished my introductions. I was reading Pastan's An Early Afterlife and came across her poem "Baseball." It captures some of the things I try to say in my memoir The 5th Inning, which will be released in March.

Baseball

When you tried to tell me

from E. Ethelbert Miller: E-Notes: Tracy Smith and Linda Pastan poetry reading . . .

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: The effect is not to produce an expediently up-to-date

version of the national poet (there's enough plain-speaking about [Robert] Burns's laddishness, his support for the slave trade, his snobbishness and his hypocrisy to prevent that happening). Rather, we get a portrait of a man with astonishing natural gifts, living in toughly actual times. The poetry is allowed to breathe an air of genius, but is always connected to the spirit of its places.

from Andrew Motion: The Guardian: 'Humming the air with the verses I have framed'

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: This is, I believe, a metaphysical poem.

It wears its metaphysics lightly--but it is still concerned with ultimate values and the flawed intersection of worldly and unworldly things. The ebb and flow of its rhythms at times suggests the music of a contemporary psalm.

[by Kevin Brophy]

Painters

It is as if each one had been sent to colour in the world,

from Carol Rumens: The Guardian: Books blog: Poem of the week

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: The poet's effort, moreover, according

to [Jack] Spicer, involved keeping a "public mask." Such distances between the private and public invited a creative spirit or otherness that allowed language to lift above the petty values of the tribe in order to restore communal knowledge. (The mask also protected the poet's privacy, saving him from the painful projections of others.) In order to expand the capacities of the tribe, the mask the poet wore represented that motivating otherness in poetry.

from Dale Smith: Bookslut: Marsupial Inquirer: Spicer's "Golem"

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: It's not so much that we've lost them.

The amazing thing is that we've had the privilege of their company. What follows is a look at some of the people in entertainment and the arts who died in 2008.

from John Timpane: Philadelpia Inquirer: In Appreciation, 2008

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: [by Frank Wilson]

Grand sparrow chorus

from Frank Wilson: Books, Inq.--The Epilogue: Haiku . . .

~~~~~~~~~~~

It is, of course, common for people to think of faith in terms of belief, that is, in terms of a proposition or set of propositions to which one either assents or does not. Actually, though, the two words are quite different in both meaning and origin. The word faith can be traced to the Latin word fidere, meaning to trust. Belief comes from an Old English word referring to whatever or whomever one holds dear.

from Frank Wilson: When Falls the Coliseum: Proportioning your beliefs to your faith

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: by Andrea Cohen

In a Haystack

A needle must feel

from The Atlantic Monthly: Poetry: In a Haystack

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: And while such an one is ploughing distressfully

up the road, it is not hard to understand his resentment, when he perceives cool persons in the meadows by the wayside, lying with a handkerchief over their ears and a glass at their elbow. Alexander is touched in a very delicate place by the disregard to Diogenes.

from Daily Times: Purple Patch: An apology for idlers --Robert Louis Stevenson

~~~~~~~~~~~

The most fatal disease of friendship is gradual decay, or dislike hourly increased by causes too slender for complaint, and too numerous for removal. Those who are angry may be reconciled; those who have been injured may receive a recompense: but when the desire of pleasing and willingness to be pleased is silently diminished, the renovation of friendship is hopeless; as, when the vital powers sink into languor, there is no longer any use of the physician.

from Daily Times: Purple Patch: The decay of friendship --Samuel Johnson

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: by Robert M. Barry

They were all singing, "School's Out!"

from Express-News: Poetry: 'Neighbor Man'

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: As for [Carl] Sandburg, he seemed not to care,

once writing, "There is a formal poetry only in form, all dressed up and nowhere to go. The number of syllables, the designated and required stresses of accent, the rhymes if wanted—they all come off with the skill of a solved crossword puzzle."

from findingDulcinea: Happy Birthday: Happy Birthday, Carl Sandburg, American Poet

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Joseph Stroud is the author of five books

of poetry; the most recent is "Of This World: New and Selected Poems," from Copper Canyon Press. His work has earned a Pushcart Prize and has been featured in the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. In 2006, he was selected by the Poet Laureate of the United States for a Witter Bynner Fellowship in poetry from the Library of Congress. He divides his time between his home in Santa Cruz and a cabin in the Sierra Nevada.

Feral

The plaza of the Gypsies.

from Good Times Weekly: Poetry Corner: This Murmuring, by Joseph Stroud

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Entropy

by Robert Rehder

from The Guardian: The Saturday poem: Entropy by Robert Rehder





~~~~~~~~~~~

Katyusha, Katyusha by Sean O'Brien

from The Guardian: Original writing: Katyusha, Katyusha by Sean O'Brien
also The Guardian: Award-winning poet Sean O'Brien writes Gaza poem


~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: by Umberto Saba,

translated by George Hochfield and Leonard Nathan

Winter

It's night, a bitter winter. You raise

from Guernica: Poetry: Two Poems

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: To Exist Is to Resist

by Remi Kanazi

In my mind

from MR Zine: To Exist Is to Resist

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Alien vs. Predator

by Michael Robbins

from The New Yorker: Poetry: Alien vs. Predator

~~~~~~~~~~~

At the River

by Louise Glück

from The New Yorker: Poetry: At the River

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: Hamish Whyte's collection, A Bird in the Hand

(Shoestring Press, £8.95), makes the most of small, revealing moments in family and everyday life, attends to the pleasures of what's past and passing. Here, an exchange overheard becomes emblematic of longer journeys we're making, from the old year to the new.

The Great Journey

The old couple

from The Scotsman: Poem of the Week

~~~~~~~~~~~

Great Regulars: "The Unwritten History of Prose"

By T.R. Hummer

from Slate: "The Unwritten History of Prose" --By T.R. Hummer

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: Mention 'Adeboye Babalola', for instance,

and the minds of many (former) students of African Literature will race to the poem, When a Strainer Takes in Water, a Yoruba incantation he translated into a beautiful poem. So fluid and meaningful is the piece published in A Selection of African Poetry edited by Theo Vincent and K. Senanu that it is easy for many students to commit it to memory. He said of his own works, "The oral poetry I used to hear recited by farmers . . . they are in the same cycle of oral poetry called Ijala in Yoruba and deal with certain aspects of country life of farmers and hunters,"

The main area where Babalola worked extensively is in Ijala, the hunter's poetry which he first documented in Orin Ode fun Aseye, a collection of numerous Ijala chants first published by Macmillan in 1973.

from The Punch: As the strainer takes in water

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: [James Ira Brooks] was a member of

Cotter Planning Commission, Cotter Chamber of Commerce and Tennessee Long Hunters. Mr. Brooks was a true renaissance man. He was an artist, poet, musician and tinkerer. He enjoyed living on the river in Cotter, possessed a wonderful sense of humor and was a shameless flirt.

from Baxter Bulletin: James Ira Brooks, 78

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: Works that stand out in her [Inger Christensen's]

production include the large collection of poems called It (Det) from 1969, where she explored both social and political issues as well as contrasting love and hate.

The rules of language and mathematics as well as musical composition also inspired her.

"Numerical ratios exist in nature: the way a leek wraps around itself from the inside," she said of Alphabet from 1981 where she used the alphabet and the Fibonacci mathematical sequence.

from Gulf Times: Danish poet Inger Christensen dead at 73
also ErasmusPC: CityPoem 70--Copenhagen

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: [Eileen B. Deno] taught for 15 years

as a Kindergarten Teacher at Mishicot and Stockbridge Elementary Schools. After she was preceded in death by her first husband, Sherman Nofke, she was united in marriage to Denis F. Deno on December 6, 1980, at St. John's Ev. Lutheran Church in Woodville, and the union was blessed with two children. She was a member of St. John's Ev. Lutheran Church and enjoyed writing poems, gardening, singing, playing cards, and crafts.

from The Post-Crescent: Deno, Eileen B.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: Jacquelyn [Elliott] was a member of

Trinity Lutheran church in St. Peter and enjoyed walking, helping at the church office, hand sewing frogs and snowmen, writing birthday poems, crossword puzzles and lottery scratch-off tickets that she called her "Chances."

from Mankato Free Press: Jacquelyn Elliott

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: For several years, Mrs. [Wanda Joyce] Fitzpatrick

worked for the Purple Sage Ranch and as a receptionist at the Frontier Times Museum. A talented western artist, as well as a gifted poet and writer, Mrs. Fitzpatrick was also a certified member of the Cherokee Nation.

from Bandera County Courier: Wanda Joyce Fitzpatrick

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: [Antonio Fontana] was known for his

ability to fix anything that was broken, and he loved to sing, play ukulele and write poems.

He was a member of the South Beach Senior Center, where he enjoyed line dancing and singing in the chorus.

from Staten Island News: Antonio Fontana, 86

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: Sue [Ellen Fulkerson] had been a poet since

childhood with numerous awards including citations from Who's Who. Several of her poems have been published over the past 30 years including a book published in 1999 entitled, "Poems For Life's Seasons" which include sketches by local artist and friend, Vici Taylor.

from Zanesville Times Recorder: Sue Ellen Fulkerson, 65

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: [Ronald] Harnish's friends drove on

for a few blocks, then flagged down a police officer for help. They were only able to describe the assailants as Latino.

Harnish, of Lakewood, Calif., was a decorated high school football player and wrestler who also wrote poetry.

On Saturday, Harnish's friends and family will hold a candlelight vigil at the scene of the crime, at 30th Street and C Street.

from Union-Tribune: Reward for information on 2006 murder of sailor increased

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: Neighbour Rose Huggins said [of Kim Hibberd]:

"Kim was a talented musician and photographer.

"We will miss his friendship and his singing and poetry recitals as he walked home past our bedroom window.

"May he rest in peace. Love Rose and John."

from thisisgloucestershire.co.uk: Murder inquiry launched after city death

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: Those who did not know her have enjoyed--

or should take the time to enjoy--the many things around town that she has played a hand in: the Canebrake Theater, the Demopolis Public Library and several other educational and enriching ventures.

An award-winning poet and author, [Patty] Horton was active in the First Presbyterian Church and was involved in many other civic functions, especially those involving education and the arts.

from Demopolis Times: Patty Horton will be remembered

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: [Edith 'Pegge' Kristof] also was a member of

the Democratic Society, the precursor to the Democratic Club, and volunteered at the county elections department.

"She loved literature and art. She painted and wrote short stories and poems," said her daughter Linda O'Neill of Santa Rosa.

from Santa Rosa Press Democrat: Edith 'Pegge' Kristof

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: The cheerleading squad will wear ribbons

for the rest of the season in memory of [Brooke] Lambert.

"Brooke to me was just a friendly wonderful student who was kind to others. I think that stands out more than anything," says [Principal Shelia] Smith.

Lambert's family found a poem she wrote in school. "Love is when you care a lot for someone or something, you would do anything, give anything, even your life."

from WYMT TV Mountain News: Middlesboro Crash Victim Remembered

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: Lucille [Treybig Langford] worked as a

micro-paleontologist; raised Alan, Brian and Lauren; and even taught Spanish-English bilingual education--all well before women's liberation.

She traveled around the world, played the pipe organ and wrote prose and poetry.

from Bandera County Courier: Treybig Langford Ph.D.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: Laura and Michael [Murphy] traveled the world

and wrote investigative freelance journalism. Laura was a very talented poet. She enjoyed reading, visiting with friends, and loved to sing in harmony with her husband Michael.

from Valley Courier: Laura Darnell Murphy, 80

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: [Vincent J. Nowak] taught Math and Science

in Wrenshall, Minn. and Spooner, Wis. He was involved in youth sports for many years, and was instrumental in the construction of the 19th. Ave. baseball field. He coached many youth football and baseball teams. He loved poetry and won awards for his work.

from Duluth News Tribune: Vincent J. Nowak

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: [James A. O'Keefe] continued to agitate against

the war and imperialism and for civil rights while an undergraduate at UC Berkeley and graduate student at San Francisco State. James was a remarkable poet and novelist, though his publications were few since he showed far less interest in publishing his work than in writing it.

from San Francisco Chronicle: O'Keefe, James A.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: In 1985, on a PEN tour of Turkey with

Arthur Miller, he [Harold Pinter] erupted furiously at a journalist during dinner at the US Embassy. They were subsequently barred from the country, but were proud at having drawn attention to the torture of political prisoners. The experience also prompted Mountain Language (1988), a play about the suppression of minority cultures. Right wing critics regularly point to Pinter's ability to criticize the British government openly as "the most powerful rebuttal" of his politics, in Tory MP Michael Gove's words. Works like Mountain Language have, in fact, shown a remarkable astuteness. Kurdish actors in London rehearsing a revival of the play in 1996 were arrested by armed police for carrying prop weapons, and were forbidden from speaking their own language. This is the theme of the play.

from World Socialist Web Site: Harold Pinter: Independent and critical to the last
also Telegraph: Harold Pinter's funeral held in accordance with his precise plans
also Telegraph: Harold Pinter directs his own funeral
also Telegraph: Harold Pinter faces opposition to memorial in Poets' Corner

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: [Lauren Richmond's] second wish was to write

and publish a book of poetry. Her book, "Black & Brown Markers," was published in July 2007 and is available at www.PeoplesEducation.com.

The book was distributed at a Marty Lyons Foundation fundraiser, where several of the attendees were well-connected with White House staff. Lauren met Jenna Bush, who was so taken with her story, she invited her to the White House for a poetry reading.

Both Laura and Jenna Bush read selections from the book. Lauren then got to meet with President George W. Bush.

from Scarlet Scuttlebutt: Bridgewater teen's dying wish to help others becoming a reality

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: We received this note from our friend

Anne MacNaughton on Christmas Eve morning, and must pass it on:

"Sad news.
Nanao Sakaki passed away in Japan on Monday.

from About Poetry: Farewell to Nanao Sakaki
also About Poetry: Nanao Sakaki
also Allen Ginsberg Project: Nanao Sakaki passes on

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: After two years she [Frances Lederle Schulte]

became a teacher for the Scottville School District (now Mason County Central), where she taught high school English for over 25 years. Many students recited their first poem, learned to appreciate America's great novelists, got hooked on Shakespeare and learned to use proper punctuation and grammar under Mrs. Schultes tutelage.

from Ludington Daily News: Frances Lederle Schulte

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: At a point in life when most people slow down,

Verna Mae Slone found her voice.

She was a quilter, a dollmaker and the mother of five sons. But after Slone found her voice, she also became the author of six books, the best known of which was her first, What My Heart Wants to Tell.

In simple language, Slone wrote about life and the importance of family, community and the fast-disappearing culture of her beloved Eastern Kentucky mountains.

from Lexington Herald-Leader: 'Grandma Moses of the mountains' dies

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: Mr. [Martin] Snipper was an artist

and traveler with a storied past: He put himself through art school to become a painter with the Works Progress Administration, taught painting to Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and kept traveling through his retirement, celebrating his 89th birthday in Cuba with his second wife, Betty. At first a painter, he later worked mostly in sculpting, said son Rossi Snipper of Minneapolis.

from San Francisco Chronicle: Martin Snipper, S.F. backer of public art, dies

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: Terry [Whitright] dedicated his professional career

to community improvement through Indian education at the reservation public schools, as a college professor and as president of Blackfeet Community College. He also was a writer and poet, writing a two-volume epic novel and a fine collection of poems.

from Great Falls Tribune: Terrance Edward Whitright

~~~~~~~~~~~

Poetic Obituaries: "She was a homebody,

she spent a lot of time at home with children," said her daughter, Joan Mularz.

Mrs. [Rita] Wright enjoyed doing crossword puzzles and writing poetry, and had three of her poems published.

She relaxed by working in her garden and by decorating for the holidays.

from Staten Island Advance: Rita Wright, 88

~~~~~~~~~~~

December 30th Poetic Ticker Clicking

News Article Tape: (ragline)___The Guardian: In terms of spreading values, Mitchell mattered most___(ragline)___The Times Literary Supplement: Seamus Heaney country___(ragline)___The Guardian: Last order___(ragline)___Morning Star: The poetry of resistance___(ragline)___The Post-Dispatch: Warhorses___(ragline)___The New York Times: The Intersection of Poetry and Politics___(ragline)___Forward: Borges's Zionist Bent: Newly Translated Poems___(ragline)___The Guardian: Renaissance rapper___(ragline)___Latin American Herald Tribune: Letters of Apollinaire To His Lover Lou Published for First Time in Spain___(ragline)___The Japan Times: 'The noise of time' ensures that art's unbowed spirit is heard___(ragline)___The Times Colonist: Gathering Holly___(ragline)___The Times Colonist: Weight by Terence Young___(ragline)___The Times Colonist: Poetry to warm the wintry soul___(ragline)___Walter Bargen: The Post-Dispatch: Missouri poets: Dressel's verse sings, if not his lambs___(ragline)___Fatima Bhutto: Al Jazeera English: S Asia neighbours' linked destinies___(ragline)___Jeffrey Brown: PBS: Newshour: Poetry Series: W.S. Merwin___(ragline)___PBS: Newshour: Weekly Poem: 'Rain Light'___(ragline)___Sarah Crown: The Guardian: Pinter in verse: a selection of his poetry___(ragline)___John Mark Eberhart: The Kansas City Star: 'The God of Molecules'___(ragline)___Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Christina Rossetti's The Thread of Life___(ragline)___Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Dickinson's "'Why do I love' you, Sir?"___(ragline)___Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Shakespeare Sonnet 103___(ragline)___Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Shakespeare Sonnet 104___(ragline)___Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Whittier's The Mystic's Christmas___(ragline)___Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Wordsworth's "Surprised by Joy"___(ragline)___Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Yogananda's "The Garden of the New Year"___(ragline)___Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: First Snow by Pamela Porter___(ragline)___Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: In Passing by Ted Kooser___(ragline)___Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: little tree by E. E. Cummings___(ragline)___Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Oniomania by Peter Pereira___(ragline)___Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Proposals by Cecilia Woloch___(ragline)___Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Song of the Wonderful Surprise by Kelly Cherry___(ragline)___Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: The world in the year 2000 by Marge Piercy___(ragline)___Ted Kooser: American Life in Poetry: Column 196___(ragline)___Denise Low: Ad Astra Poetry Project: Michael Poage (1945 - )___(ragline)___Anthony Maulucci: Norwich Bulletin: Poets have long credited wine for inspiration, comfort___(ragline)___Robert Pinsky: Slate: "The Darkling Thrush"___(ragline)___Michael Rosen: The Guardian: Reading Aloud with Michael Rosen: Christmas messages___(ragline)___Carol Rumens: The Guardian: Books blog: Poem of the week___(ragline)___David L. Ulin: Los Angeles Times: 'John Lennon: The Life,' by Philip Norman___(ragline)___Daily Times: Purple Patch: On national prejudices --Oliver Goldsmith___(ragline)___findingDulcinea: Happy Birthday: Rudyard Kipling, Author of "Kim" and "The Jungle Book"___(ragline)___MR Zine: Remi Kanazi, "A Poem for Gaza"___(ragline)___The New Yorker: Poetry: Anterooms___(ragline)___The New Yorker: Poetry: Trismegistus___(ragline)___The New Yorker: Poetry: A Sensible Life___(ragline)___Portsmouth Herald News: Poem: A Lesson Learned___(ragline)___Portsmouth Herald News: Poetry Hoot on tap for Jan. 7___(ragline)___Powells: Review-A-Day: Poetry of Resentment___(ragline)___The Sun Magazine: Poetry: A New And Fervent Domesticity Has Seized Me___(ragline)___Morristown Green: Sheldon Biber, poet: 1935-2008___(ragline)___Barry Louis Polisar: Sheldon Biber___(ragline)___Richmond Times-Dispatch: Hospital volunteer Maria Bowles dies___(ragline)___Caller-Times: Del Mar innovator, namesake of plaza Creighton, 97, dies___(ragline)___The Daily Times: Dean D. Curry___(ragline)___Crossville Chronicle: William E. Evans___(ragline)___The Santa Barbara Independent: Richard Exner 1929--2008___(ragline)___Nigerian Tribune: For Femi Fatoba, renowned actor, academic, it's goodnight___(ragline)___The Sacramento Bee: Nation's oldest man, 112, dies in Sacramento___(ragline)___The News International: PM condoles death of Saleem___(ragline)___The Bellingham Herald: Barney Goltz, former legislator, dies at 84___(ragline)___Newark Advocate: Man known for teaching methods___(ragline)___The Baltimore Sun: Helen T. Kadlec, lover of 'all things domestic'___(ragline)___The Philadelphia Inquirer: Denison S. Knewstub, 67, arborist___(ragline)___Great Falls Tribune: Lucille M. Malcott___(ragline)___Staten Island News: Rev. James Martin, 60___(ragline)___York Daily Record: York's first poet laureate dies: Gerry Meisenhelder never tired of exploring life___(ragline)___Palisadian-Post: Raymond Nasser, 61___(ragline)___Post-Bulletin: Barbara J. 'Barb' Noble--West Concord___(ragline)___Juneau Empire: Neighbors mailbox: Friend gives tribute to Sigurd T. Olson___(ragline)___Staten Island Advance: Angela Paolillo, 62___(ragline)___Port Clinton News Herald: Peter V. Paulus___(ragline)___The Guardian: Pinter's poetry got under the skin___(ragline)___The Boston Globe: Harold Pinter, dramatist of life's menace, dies___(ragline)___MR Zine: Harold Pinter--Friend of the Kurds, Citizen of the World___(ragline)___Telegraph: Charles Spencer: The last time I saw Harold Pinter___(ragline)___The Independent: Jonathan Heawood: For Pinter, the outsider came first___(ragline)___San Francisco Chronicle: Harold Pinter knew better than to explain___

Blog Entry Tape: (ragline)___The Guardian: In terms of spreading values, Mitchell mattered most___(ragline)___The Times Literary Supplement: Seamus Heaney country___(ragline)___The Guardian: Last order___(ragline)___Morning Star: The poetry of resistance___(ragline)___The Post-Dispatch: Warhorses___(ragline)___The New York Times: The Intersection of Poetry and Politics___(ragline)___Forward: Borges's Zionist Bent: Newly Translated Poems___(ragline)___The Guardian: Renaissance rapper___(ragline)___Latin American Herald Tribune: Letters of Apollinaire To His Lover Lou Published for First Time in Spain___(ragline)___The Japan Times: 'The noise of time' ensures that art's unbowed spirit is heard___(ragline)___The Times Colonist: Gathering Holly___(ragline)___The Times Colonist: Weight by Terence Young___(ragline)___The Times Colonist: Poetry to warm the wintry soul___(ragline)___Walter Bargen: The Post-Dispatch: Missouri poets: Dressel's verse sings, if not his lambs___(ragline)___Fatima Bhutto: Al Jazeera English: S Asia neighbours' linked destinies___(ragline)___Jeffrey Brown: PBS: Newshour: Poetry Series: W.S. Merwin___(ragline)___PBS: Newshour: Weekly Poem: 'Rain Light'___(ragline)___Sarah Crown: The Guardian: Pinter in verse: a selection of his poetry___(ragline)___John Mark Eberhart: The Kansas City Star: 'The God of Molecules'___(ragline)___Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Christina Rossetti's The Thread of Life___(ragline)___Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Dickinson's "'Why do I love' you, Sir?"___(ragline)___Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Shakespeare Sonnet 103___(ragline)___Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Shakespeare Sonnet 104___(ragline)___Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Whittier's The Mystic's Christmas___(ragline)___Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Wordsworth's "Surprised by Joy"___(ragline)___Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Yogananda's "The Garden of the New Year"___(ragline)___Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: First Snow by Pamela Porter___(ragline)___Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: In Passing by Ted Kooser___(ragline)___Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: little tree by E. E. Cummings___(ragline)___Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Oniomania by Peter Pereira___(ragline)___Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Proposals by Cecilia Woloch___(ragline)___Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: Song of the Wonderful Surprise by Kelly Cherry___(ragline)___Garrison Keillor: The Writer's Almanac: The world in the year 2000 by Marge Piercy___(ragline)___Ted Kooser: American Life in Poetry: Column 196___(ragline)___Denise Low: Ad Astra Poetry Project: Michael Poage (1945 - )___(ragline)___Anthony Maulucci: Norwich Bulletin: Poets have long credited wine for inspiration, comfort___(ragline)___Robert Pinsky: Slate: "The Darkling Thrush"___(ragline)___Michael Rosen: The Guardian: Reading Aloud with Michael Rosen: Christmas messages___(ragline)___Carol Rumens: The Guardian: Books blog: Poem of the week___(ragline)___David L. Ulin: Los Angeles Times: 'John Lennon: The Life,' by Philip Norman___(ragline)___Daily Times: Purple Patch: On national prejudices --Oliver Goldsmith___(ragline)___findingDulcinea: Happy Birthday: Rudyard Kipling, Author of "Kim" and "The Jungle Book"___(ragline)___MR Zine: Remi Kanazi, "A Poem for Gaza"___(ragline)___The New Yorker: Poetry: Anterooms___(ragline)___The New Yorker: Poetry: Trismegistus___(ragline)___The New Yorker: Poetry: A Sensible Life___(ragline)___Portsmouth Herald News: Poem: A Lesson Learned___(ragline)___Portsmouth Herald News: Poetry Hoot on tap for Jan. 7___(ragline)___Powells: Review-A-Day: Poetry of Resentment___(ragline)___The Sun Magazine: Poetry: A New And Fervent Domesticity Has Seized Me___(ragline)___Morristown Green: Sheldon Biber, poet: 1935-2008___(ragline)___Barry Louis Polisar: Sheldon Biber___(ragline)___Richmond Times-Dispatch: Hospital volunteer Maria Bowles dies___(ragline)___Caller-Times: Del Mar innovator, namesake of plaza Creighton, 97, dies___(ragline)___The Daily Times: Dean D. Curry___(ragline)___Crossville Chronicle: William E. Evans___(ragline)___The Santa Barbara Independent: Richard Exner 1929--2008___(ragline)___Nigerian Tribune: For Femi Fatoba, renowned actor, academic, it's goodnight___(ragline)___The Sacramento Bee: Nation's oldest man, 112, dies in Sacramento___(ragline)___The News International: PM condoles death of Saleem___(ragline)___The Bellingham Herald: Barney Goltz, former legislator, dies at 84___(ragline)___Newark Advocate: Man known for teaching methods___(ragline)___The Baltimore Sun: Helen T. Kadlec, lover of 'all things domestic'___(ragline)___The Philadelphia Inquirer: Denison S. Knewstub, 67, arborist___(ragline)___Great Falls Tribune: Lucille M. Malcott___(ragline)___Staten Island News: Rev. James Martin, 60___(ragline)___York Daily Record: York's first poet laureate dies: Gerry Meisenhelder never tired of exploring life___(ragline)___Palisadian-Post: Raymond Nasser, 61___(ragline)___Post-Bulletin: Barbara J. 'Barb' Noble--West Concord___(ragline)___Juneau Empire: Neighbors mailbox: Friend gives tribute to Sigurd T. Olson___(ragline)___Staten Island Advance: Angela Paolillo, 62___(ragline)___Port Clinton News Herald: Peter V. Paulus___(ragline)___The Guardian: Pinter's poetry got under the skin___(ragline)___The Boston Globe: Harold Pinter, dramatist of life's menace, dies___(ragline)___MR Zine: Harold Pinter--Friend of the Kurds, Citizen of the World___(ragline)___Telegraph: Charles Spencer: The last time I saw Harold Pinter___(ragline)___The Independent: Jonathan Heawood: For Pinter, the outsider came first___(ragline)___San Francisco Chronicle: Harold Pinter knew better than to explain___