Appreciating poets and poems even more by reading Seamus Heaney’s “Opened Ground” alongside Frank O’Driscoll’s “Stepping Stones, ” whose interviews add depth to the poems.
Poetry Review: Frank Bidart’s “Metaphysical Dog”
Frank Bidart’s latest poetry collection, Metaphysical Dog, should be read as one long poem rather than 39 individual poems.
Poet in New York: Federico García Lorca
A new edition of Federico García Lorca’s “Poet in New York” adds depth and understanding to what we know about the poet.
Poetry at Work: The Work of a Poet Laureate
Ava Leavell Haymon was recently named Louisiana’s poet laureate. Walter Bargen, a former poet laureate for Missouri, has some insights into what that means.
Poetry Review: Mark Jarman’s “Bone Fires”
A review of “Bone Fires: News and Selected Poems, ” by Mark Jarman, notes his development of the themes of family, faith, and doubt.
Poetry Review: A Clown at Midnight
A review of the recently published collection “A Clown at Midnight: Poems, ” by Andrew Hudgins.
Dana Gioia’s “Pity the Beautiful: Poems”
It’s rather startling to read contemporary poetry that rhymes. And Pity the Beautiful: Poems by Dana Gioia is startling in exactly that way, and more. There’s a name for this, of course; we have to give everything a name: The “New Formalism.” It reaches back to a time when most poetry did indeed rhyme, and […]
How to Host a Successful Book Launch
Karen Swallow Prior, recently published author of Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me, shares her tips for hosting a successful book launch.
The Poetry of Riffraff
It’s not a new thing for a poet to take common everyday things, the riffraff of our lives, and use them to signify or explain something larger. Glynn Young reviews Stephen Cushman’s “Riffraff: Poems” with special attention to the unique ways Cushman makes something of the riffraff.
The Art and Music of “Four Quartets” by T.S. Eliot
“Go, go, go, said the bird: human kind / cannot bear very much reality.” Glynn Young recalls his first reading of Four Quartets, which T.S. Eliot wrote over six years, the last three poems during the London Blitz.
Our Favorite Poetry Books of the Year
Yesterday, we poured a steamy cup of spiced apple cider and a list of our favorite books about poetry. As promised, today we’re serving eggnog and sharing our editors’ favorite poetry collections of the year.
A Winner for the Emily Dickinson Giveaway
Glynn Young announces a winner for the free copy of Kristin LeMay’s “I Told My Soul to Sing: Finding God with Emily Dickinson.”
Finding God with Emily Dickinson (and a Giveaway)
In “I Told My Soul to Sing: Finding God with Emily Dickinson, ” Kristin LeMay uses 30 poems to navigate the rocks of belief, prayer, and mortality. LeMay’s Dickinson is remarkably human. Glynn Young reviews this new volume and has a giveaway.
Poetry and Memory: Thomas Lux’s “Child Made of Sand”
“Child Made of Sand” is not the poetry of youth; it is the poetry of wisdom and understanding. Glynn Young reviews Thomas Lux’s new collection of poems.
A Giveaway Winner for ‘Prayers of a Young Poet’
We announce the winner of the giveaway for “Prayers of a Young Poet” by Rainer Maria Rilke.
Rilke’s ‘Prayers of a Young Poet’ (And a Giveaway)
Glynn Young reviews Rainer Maria Rilke’s “Prayers of a Young Poet, ” a wonderfully engaging collection, adding new insight to both the man and his poetry.
Discovering Moons, Discovering Myself
I wanted to give you something of comfort: words like an armoire smelling of talc, lined with lace, concealing a ruby bracelet, tortoise shell comb. Words that melt on the tongue a communion wafer. wheaten and whispering of salvation… (from the poem “Why Write” by Judith Valente) I read Judith Valente’s Discovering Moons twice, once […]
“Finding My Elegy” by Ursula Le Guin
Le Guin has pulled together some of her favorite poems and included new ones as a kind of possible life or work summary, including “Finding My Elegy”…
Laugh and Learn to Write Fiction
There’s a new book on the street. (And in the pink limo.) The Novelist, a novella that will teach you how to write fiction, even as you get lost in a story of one big challenge, an elusive cup of tea, and a ruminating poet’s attempt to break free. “Hilarious protagonist, ” says one reader. […]
Poetry for Isaac and Ishmael
This is not the poetry of Mideast politics but the poetry of people – peoples – caught up in Mideast politics, whether the scene is set in the Auschwitz death camp or the Aida refugee camp.