This week in our discussion of Dorothy Parker’s Elbow we consider the tattoo and identity — the way a tattoo can broadcast one’s identity, and how it might seem to have the power to create it, impose it, even take it away.
Poets and Poems: Patricia Smith
This week’s “Poets and Poems” highlights Patricia Smith’s work, including her poem “They Romp with Wooly Canines” and her performance of “Skinhead.”
Poetry Classroom: Iowa Tocatta
Welcome to this month’s poetry classroom, with poet and professor David Wright. Come discuss “Iowa” at Tweetspeak Poetry.
Tattoo Poetry: The Ink’s Journey Prompt
Tattoo poetry is *ink transforming*—telling a story or covering one, or giving a person something to live into that is yet untold.
Twitter Poetry: Top Ten Poetic Tweets
We’re hosting a Twitter Poetry Party tonight. To get you warmed up, here are ten of the best poetic tweets we’ve seen in the last few weeks
WordCandy Sweet Blogger Roundup
We’re featuring a handful of delicious quotes and images from our WordCandy Sweet Bloggers. Have a taste, and try your hand with a WordCandy poetry prompt.
Poets and Poems: Talking About Movies with Jesus
A review of David Kirby’s “Talking About Movies with Jesus: Poems” that uses the style of the poems as the structure of the review.
This Week’s Top Ten Poetic Picks
Emily Dickinson’s pickup lines, op-ed poetry, why you should draw with your 4-year-old. It’s a brand new week of our Top Ten Poetic Picks.
What Do Tattoos Mean: Dorothy Parker’s Elbow Book Club
Tattoos are permanent and must, therefore, mean something more than “a picture on the skin.” Join our book club discussion on Dorothy Parker’s Elbow.
Journey into Poetry: Daniel Bowman Jr.
I learned that through reading, I could, as Emily Dickinson put it, “dwell in possibility.” Poet Daniel Bowman Jr. shares his journey into poetry.
A Poetry Dare for Will Oldham, the Anti-Poetry Guy
Will Oldham’s June 1, 2012 column in Poetry magazine from the Poetry Foundation has sparked a lot of controversy. It’s actually pretty poetic.
Poetry: The Teachers Who Teach Us
The teachers we have in middle school and high school can have a profound influence on how we understand and appreciate poetry throughout our lives.
Poets and Poems: Seamus Heaney
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.
Bottled & Canned: A Secret Poetry Prompt
Think of a secret you want or need to preserve. Put it in a bottle or can. Will it go in easily? This is poetry. We don’t need to know the actual secret.
Ten Great Writing Playlists & Poetry Prompts
Do you have a favorite playlist you listen to while you write poetry? We’re featuring ten of our favorite themed writing playlists.
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.
Top Ten Poetic Picks
Being literally incorrect, Sesame Street’s “Sons of Poetry, ” Walter White & Walt Whitman, why ask why you need an editor. It’s our Top Ten Poetic Picks.
Book Club: Dorothy Parker’s Elbow: Tattoos on Writers, Writers on Tattoos
Whether one is inked from head to toe or repelled by the very notion of a tattoo, there’s no escaping that tattoos fascinate. Join us in September for a new book club selection, Dorothy Parker’s Elbow: Tattoos on Writers, Writers on Tattoos.
Operation Poetry Dare: Poetry Brain
Can everyone write poetry? Or only those with a poetry brain? Looks like Nancy Franson is trying to talk herself out of writing a poem as her Poetry Dare continues.
Poetry at Work: Casey at the Bat
The 1888 popular poem “Casey at the Bat” has much to teach us about the over-confidence and pride that leads to failure at work.