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Michaelian on Reading
[N]o day has passed in which I have not read. The very act is my grateful prayer of the predawn hours, and many other hours besides. Reading is my rhythm, my companion, my faithful, illuminating guide. Through it, inches become miles, hours days, days years, years lifetimes. These sentences from a brief but moving introduction to William Michaelian‘s annual list of books he’s read in the current year. He has been happily wandering through the 19th century, and not a few of the books he lists are ones I’ve had on my “read someday” list.Read More
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Friday Notebook 2.17.12 (Updated)
I ran across a blurb this week that I want to share. The author of the book being praised (or half-praised, or faint-praised), let me hasten to say, is not at fault; the publisher, though, might want to consider whether a statement of support consisting of nothing but two different colors of smoke does the book justice.Read More
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On William Michaelian’s A Listening Thing
New from Cosmopsis Books I wanted to say a word about a quietly wonderful novel I just finished reading, by my cyber-friend, William Michaelian. I’ve never met William in the flesh, but have become a fan over the past few years, especially of his poetry. The fact is I don’t read much fiction; all too often fiction, being prose, wastes too many words on stage direction—“Jack began climbing the beanstalk, his soft leather booties slipping now and then on the dewy leaves,” etc.—while the humanity of the story goes missing.Read More
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A Murder of Crows and Ravens
From a Swaying Hammock With a raw squawk the raven breakshis glide and alights on a pine’s spring-like branch.Read More
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The Painting of You and Addressing 30: A Timeline
Opening any new book begins an adventure. It may turn out to be an adventure of the Disneyland type—mechanical rides, overpriced nutrition-free snacks, sweaty adolescents in cartoon character costumes (you know: the whole Post-Modern funhouse)—or one of those voyages “buoy’d on the dense marine“: Leaves of Grass, Neruda’s Fin de Mundo, Ammons’s Sphere. Of course, most books fall in between these extremes. But I confess to a preference for those that offer the sensation of “waves breaking just over the hill,” a salt fragrance of depths and distances.Read More
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Tom Montag In the Zone
For several weeks now Tom Montag has been writing “in the zone” about poetry on is blog The Middlewesterner—the process, the purpose, the inside and the out of it. Today’s Montag post is especially resonant.Read More
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![More Serendipity… [UPDATED]](https://www.jhwriter.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/asemic-280x280.gif)
More Serendipity… [UPDATED]
By email Annie Wyndham (see her blog here) sent me this link—another instance of serendipity, this time spinning out from my previous post about Talking Gourd South. Asemic writing! Who knew…? Henri Michaux, Narration (excerpt), 1927 UPDATE: Don’t miss the link in William Michaelian’s comment below.Read More
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Joining the Dreamers
Thanks to Lynn Behrendt for posting my first contribution to the Annandale Dream Gazette. The Gazette, a “poets’ blog of dreams,” is one of the most fascinating projects on the Web.Read More
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The Web at It’s Best … and Return from a Voyage
From a link to this blog on William Michaelian’s blog, Canadian writer Annie Wyndham found my earlier post on Guillevic and wrote to tell me about it. Turns out she operates a fine blog herself, called Jottings of an AmeriQuebeckian. In the world BW (Before the Web), how would our paths ever have crossed? ::::::::::::: And speaking of paths, about 9 days ago I queued a number of posts to appear while I was out of the country, which is why I was unresponsive to a few of your emails.Read More
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Two Discoveries
First, I just discovered that poet Katie Murray has linked to this blog, so I’ve returned the favor by linking to hers: Stealing Fire. Give it a look! Second, I stumbled upon this interview with the intrepid and prolific William Michaelian, which had somehow escaped my notice.Read More
Joseph Hutchison, Colorado Poet Laureate 2014-2019, has published 20 collections of poems and edited or co-edited three poetry anthologies. He currently directs two master’s-level programs for University College at the University of Denver: Professional Creative Writing and Arts & Culture Management. Joe lives with his wife, Melody Madonna, in the mountains southwest of Denver, Colorado, the city where he was born. 
