Tonight, my flowerpots are so dry the water I pour in forces bubbles out of the soil. Unless I’ve watered it, every plant looks tired of trying to grow. Even the ones I have watered consistently all summer weep in the evening heat. In normal years, I often wonder at the power of flowers and […]
Archives for July 2012
Hirshfield, Olson & Saunders: The Cloudy Vase
image-ine: a visceral reaction to sound
i was blissfully unaware of the fact that people lived with music inside of them. it took falling in love to learn this life truth. he was angled and beautiful: tan skin, rippled with muscle curvature and dark curls that framed his strong jawline. the music inside of him spontaneously made its way out of […]
The Art of Immigration
Did you know that our beloved Top 10 Columnist Matthew Kreider is in the midst of moving to Canada from the U.S.? Says Matthew, as he juggles the boxes… I dream of a world where artists oversee all matters pertaining to customs and immigration, where only Manchego cheese-eating poets ask me to document the contents […]
This Week’s Top Ten Poetic Picks
The best in poetry (and poetic things), this week with Kimberlee Conway Ireton. 1 Art Mandy Kahn creates community poetry installations. For art galleries. At least, that’s the dream. It’s sort of like improv comedy using lines of poetry, only a lot more lyrical. Al Black used to travel the roads of Florida selling paintings […]
The Anthologist: Pluck the Day
I scheduled a date with Paul Chowder on Friday. We were supposed to hang out and talk about Sara Teasdale. He’d been going on about how some poets spend too much time thinking about death, like going to a movie and just waiting for the credits, which my dad taught me are very interesting if you […]
Book Spine Poetry
Wander around your basement or upstairs in your room. You’re sure to find a Cento Poem. We did.
July Mosaics: Concrete Poetry
In the summer of 2008, the local Barnes & Noble invited Geoffrey Brock to read from his first book of Poetry, Weighing Light. Metal folding chairs were placed between the do-it-your self section and the clearance picture-book aisle. I’m not sure whether it was the ideal spot for a poetry reading, what with patrons whizzing through […]
Journey into Poetry: Matthew Kreider
So much of life depends upon the lighting. Under the fluorescent bulbs of Grade 9 English, I turned to page 646, or something like that, and discovered poetry. Unit VII probably had a catchy and alliterative title, but I don’t remember it. I remember seeing bold-faced words, eerie line breaks (though I didn’t know the […]
IMAGE-INE: Ireland Up Close
When my daughter was born, she came alive into the world with only one tiny cry of surprise. Her little black eyes blinked. She saw nothing – but she saw everything that was important: she was loved; Mama was here; she was a person. I saw for her; I saw her; I learned at twenty-five […]
This Week’s Top 10 Poetic Picks
The best in poetry (and poetic things), this week with Matthew Kreider.
The Anthologist: Conversation in a Laundromat
I moved upstairs to the kitchen to work. I don’t like the kitchen much. It reminds me of all the times I have to cook, and cooking is not something I enjoy. Sometimes when I cook, there’s a fire, and I’m not sure the fire extinguisher was recharged after the last one. It wasn’t my […]
Seamus Heaney, Gem-Cutter
Human Chain refutes the notion that poetry is the province of the young. It’s a collection of poems that demonstrates Heaney’s love of words and language, carefully chiseled and strung together like brilliant diamonds.
July Mosaics: Juxtaposition
Years ago, I had the privilege of rubbing eyeballs with royalty. Flanked by an impressive retinue of distinguished figure heads, the fair-skinned and curly-haired king stood before a hushed audience at my university and delivered a cultural manifesto on the artist’s role in creating the juxtaposition of political and religious imagery to benefit and protect society.
But I was more interested in his shoes.
My Life as a Cento
Cento (Lat. “patchwork”). A verse composition made up of lines selected from the work or works of some great poet(s) of the past. —The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry & Poetics Like most poets, I have a notebook. Mine is a chunky tablet, 5×7 inches, with a large spiral binding and two thick boards that serve […]
Image-ine: colour seduction in burano venice
Take an exotic tour—in colorful words and photos—of Burano Venice. See if you don’t want to go there in your dreams and beyond.
This Week’s Top Ten Poetic Picks
The best in poetry (and poetic things), this week with Kimberlee Conway Ireton. 1 Art We heart book art. Here’s Erica Baum’s new collection of paper art. Called Dog Ear, it’s a collection of photographs of the dog-eared pages of books. Sound boring? It’s not. It’s beautiful. We’ve spotlighted quite a bit of book art […]
The Occasional Painter
Seeing the tubes and bottles of paint brought a smile to my face. I was packing a bag to take to a friend’s house for the day, and among the things I was bringing were the paints, a jar filled with brushes of all sizes, and a couple of fresh white canvases. Sarah, an artist […]
WordCandy: We All Need
Coming soon. A Web app that lets you make a friend’s day, every day. Or make a statement to the world. With sweet words and beautiful images. Ship your “wordcandy” via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Tumblr. Sign up to be a Beta Tester today. Get early access and sneak peeks of exclusive quotes and background […]
Tweetspeak Love: Reno K. Lawrence
“You know this is true, right Reno?” I asked. I was talking about how we *do* feature and publish people, sharing them with over 29, 000 readers, when they grow in their skills and connect with our community. (Check out how we published him in Every Day Poems, and he will also be featured in […]