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Check Out Pratik Magazine
A couple of days ago I received my copy of the new Pratik, a fine, diverse journal of poetry, fiction, and art edited in Nepal by Yuyutsu RD Sharma. Pratik reminds us just how insular too many U.S. literary journals have become. It reminds me of Robert Bly‘s spirited magazine The Fifties (later The Sixties, The Seventies, and The Thousands), though Pratik embraces a wider range of genres. Founded by Nepalese poet, Hari Adhikary and edited by Yuyutsu RD Sharma, Pratik is a purely non-profit literary publication and is published by White Lotus Book Shop, Kathmandu, for Mrs.Read More
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A Tribute to Robert Mezey
Thanks to Jodie Hollander and Aaron for this extraordinary assemblage of twenty-five friends and colleagues from all over the world who generously gave their time to honor the remarkable poet Robert Mezey. (See below for a few samples of his work.) The various interviews and when they appear in the podcast are listed below: Rhina Espaillat (2:17); Charles Wright (5:16); Dana Gioia (11:03); Jackie Coulette (16:13); Michael Collier (20:28); Olivia Ellis (25:21); Eugene Pugach (30:35); Charles Martin (33:32); Paul St.Read More
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“Running For Your Life”: A Community Poem For Ahmaud Arbery
Listen Here: https://www.npr.org/2020/05/27/862339935/running-for-your-life-a-community-poem-for-ahmaud-arberyRead More
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Nothing Is Truer than Truth
More than fifteen years ago I became convinced that the man named William Shakspere, resident of Stratford-upon-Avon and identified since the mid-18th century as the author William Shakespeare, was not, in fact, the author of the plays and poems. (See a select bibliography at the end of this post.) Then, about a decade ago, I discovered that a movie about the real author—Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford—was in the works.Read More
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From the Denver Area Poetry Scene a Quarter Century Back
Thanks to Carson Reed for posting images of this event on his Facebook page.Read More
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Congratulations, Bobby LeFebre!
I’m excited to announce that our new Colorado Poet Laureate, Bobby LeFebre, was announced today at the State Capitol building by the man who selected him, Governor Jared Polis.Read More
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Late Breaking News!
Governor Jared Polis will announce Colorado’s New Poet Laureate on Tuesday, July 23, 2019 at 12:00 p.m. in the West Foyer of the State Capitol. The Poet Laureate serves a four-year term and is chosen by the Governor through a program administered by Colorado Creative Industries and Colorado Humanities & Center for the Book. You are invited to share in the announcement along with Governor Polis, representatives from Colorado Creative Industries, Colorado Humanities & Center for the Book, and the current Colorado Poet Laureate, Joseph Hutchison.Read More
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Whitman in Conversation
I recently read Walt Whitman Speaks: His Final Thoughts on Life, Writing, Spirituality, and the Promise of America. As the editor, Brenda Wineapple, writes in her introduction that Whitman’s friend Horace Traubel visited Walt Whitman nearly every day in the poet’s two-story row house at 328 Mickle Street, Camden, New Jersey, beginning in March 1888, when Whitman was 69. As a bank clerk, Traubel was proficient in shorthand.Read More
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Adventures in Reading 2018
Old Reading Room at BookBar (Photo: Tricia M.) Let me admit up front that I’ve included half a dozen books here that were read as part of my work with the Professional Creative Writing program at University College. But they all turned out to be worthwhile reading experiences. Even those I couldn’t quite connect with—Juan Gelman’s The Poems of Sidney West, Ben Lerner’s Angle of Yaw, and Adonis’s powerful Concerto al-Quds, which is also recondite and nakedly anguished by turns—continue to haunt me. This is usually an early indicator of re-readings in the offing.Read More
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On Carol Bass’s Ripple Effect
Order directly from the publisher or from Amazon. I am blown away. Flummoxed. Exalted! There is a new brilliantaceous star atop my publishing tree this Christmas, thanks to editor, artist, and poet Carol Bass.Read More