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Weary-Hearted
Among my very first blog posts here was this one regarding Howard Nemerov. I was reminded of him again by Jim Culleny’s posting of Nemerov’s weary-hearted poem “The Life Cycle of the Common Man,” over at 3 Quarks Daily. It is a fine example of what Captain Ron would call “quietude.” I happen to like it. Why? Well, at least in part because it is anti-heroic, and for almost a decade we Americans have been operating in Heroic Mode–the jingoistic, charge-up-San-Juan-Hill mentality that not infrequently leads us to elect stupid leaders who lead us into stupid wars.Read More
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The Freedom to Blaspheme
I imagine we have increasing instances of this to look forward to on the way to the Romney-Palin ticket in 2012: Christian activists are due to stage a protest outside the Welsh Assembly tomorrow over Patrick Jones’s poetry collection Darkness Is Where the Stars Are, which they describe as “ugly, indecent and blasphemous”.Read More
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Mr. Dinh Goes to Santa Cruz
I strongly recommend Linh Dinh‘s series of posts on his sojourn in Santa Cruz (he spent five days or so in town before giving a reading on Friday, November 14).Read More
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Adios, Studs
I’m saddened by the passing of Studs Terkel, whose in-depth truth-telling journalism stands up so well to the mental bon-bons that come to us so nicely wrapped in multicolored cellophane by the Corporate media. And it’s interesting to contemplate the passion Terkel brought to understanding America and Americans, especially in comparison with the increasing dispassion and outright disinterest most American poets have brought to that effort over the past 30 years or so.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. 
