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W. S. Merwin on Being Sure
W. S. Merwin (top) & John Berryman Berryman by W. S.Read More
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Digging into The Gravedigger’s Roots
I’ve read only three ebooks in my life, though there are number in my iPad’s Kindle queue. One was Richard Paul Roe’s wonderful The Shakespeare Guide to Italy: Retracing the Bard’s Unknown Travels; a second was Haiku 1.0 by Joaquín Iborra Mateo, a bilingual edition whose English versions don’t quite rise to the level of the originals; and most recently, Robert S. King‘s The Gravedigger’s Roots, which I want to say a few words about here.Read More
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The Great Debate
No, not Obama v. McCain, but this (a repost of a November 2007 post by Bill Knott on his blog today [links not in the original]): Randall Jarrell, writing in 1941: ”Realizing that the best poetry of the [1920s] was too inaccessible, we can will our poetry into accessibility—but how much poetry will be left when we finish? Our political or humanitarian interests may make us wish to make our poetry accessible to large groups . . . . “ The debate—whether one should strive to make one’s verse accessible—still rages of course.Read More
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Poetry and the Poet’s Character
Reginald Shepherd, in a typically thoughtful and eloquent post, successfully critiques the notion that poets associated with Donald M. Allen’s seminal anthology, The New American Poets, wrote with political and/or social change as a goal. Unfortunately, as he reaches his conclusion, he uses his valuable analysis to make a puzzling claim: “If we were to judge works of art by their creators’ political positions, much would be ruled out of bounds.” On the surface this sounds admirably dispassionate; but the implications of his statement are troubling.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. 
