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Zagajewski’s Symphony
Adam Zagajewski’s extraordinary Slight Exaggeration, translated by Clare Cavanagh, has proven to be one of those books that require slow reading, pondering, backtracking, breaking out the dictionary on occasion, or the encyclopedia. Late in the book I realized that it seems to be structured symphonically. Themes are announced, interwoven, diminished for a time, then they resurface, converge, augment one another, reach a crescendo. The effect is inspiring. In any case, here are some final selections. Read some others here and here. Better yet: Buy the book.Read More
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Rediscovering a Major Colorado Poet
I just finished reading an extraordinary collection of poems by the long-overlooked Colorado poet Belle Turnbull. Certainly no better poems have been written about the lives of people wooed into the mountains by a vision of wealth—from gold, silver, molybdenum, and other elemental substances—and a primal sense of personal liberty. Edited by David J. Rothman, an excellent poet in his own right, and Vonnegut aficionado Jeffrey Villines, this book belongs in the library of every poet and certainly every reader who cares about poetry of the American West.Read More
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Delicious Advice for Aspiring Poets
From the inimitable Wisława Szymborska, Nobel Prize-winning Polish poet who produced a column for a newspaper called Literary Life. She answered letters from everyday people who wanted to write poetry—a sort of “Dear Wisława” relationship that she handled with intelligence, humor, and care. Here are a few selections from her column, translated by Clare Cavanagh and courtesy of The Poetry Foundation.Read More
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George Szirtes on Artistic Internationalism
“Culture is not a purely national business. I work as a poet and translator and would find it inconceivable to read Chaucer without being aware of the figures of Dante and Boccaccio in the background, or Shakespeare without Plutarch. Or indeed TS Eliot (himself an immigrant to the UK) without referring to 100 texts from other states in other languages. This form of internationalism is the lifeblood of art.Read More
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Thank You, Tom
I have not managed to write directly about the arrival of Cheeto Head in the White House. But Tom Montag has—indirectly. Indirectly direct! With a hope I trust will fulfill itself one day…. JANUARY 20, 2017 Out of darkness, fog, hiding the barren trees, hanging like unhappiness….Read More
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Cid Corman Reads William Carlos Williams
Cid Corman was a fine poet in his own write, but he was also a great and essentially selfless promoter of other poets, not just through his editorship of Origin magazine (founded in 1951), but through his many translations and his quirky, insightful essay on poets and poetry. What’s more, in 1949 Corman co-founded America’s first poetry radio program, This Is Poetry, at WMEX (1510 kc.) in Boston.Read More
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PBS NewsHour Poetry Sends in the Clown(s)
A nicely written interview by Mary Jo Brooks—along with one of my more topical poems rom The World As Is and a recording of me reading it—is now up at the PBS NewsHour Poetry website. I love the title!Read More
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A Tribute Taking Place on Many Levels