Ms. G in the Pulpit. April 17, 2007: The Virginia Tech convocation was draining, so sad. Cliches were everywhere, the hurt so deep that speakers clicked into rote language. The words hardly mattered. Until... Nikki Giovanni punched her poetic fist through the dreary proceedings, daring the mourners to imagine themselves normal again. In brash and rousing womanspeak that was part [...] by Patricia Smith

Yes, poetry matters. April 17, 2007: Sometimes I think it would be easier to give up. The point of the pen touches the paper, and because we call ourselves poets, what flows out should be part of the world’s story. On days like this, our shoulders buckle under the weight of it all—no stanza has the fists we need, no syllable quiets the wail. I remember a regularly scheduled open [...] by Patricia Smith

Difficult Poetry April 16, 2007: Sometimes we write about writing poetry as if writing poetry is a pleasurable activity. Then something horrible happens in our world, and se think of the poems that have to be written, and we realize that we come to poetry with fear and trembling. The act of trying to turn horror into art is painful, and can be approached with the deep reluctance [...] by Kwame Dawes

Writers’ Studios April 15, 2007: Writers and the rooms they work in. Link: http://books.guardian.co.uk/writersrooms (Photo above: Will Self's studio. 71 photographs of Will Self's room can be found here: http://www.will-self.com/writing-room/index.php). by Kenneth Goldsmith

Cecil Taylor April 15, 2007: You knew he was a great pianist, but did you know he was also an incredible sound poet? Chinampas (MP3) Cecil Taylor: poetry, voice, tympani, bells, small percussion Recorded 16 + 17 November, 1987 1. # 5'04 2. # 3'43 3. # 5'46 4. # 5'07 5. # 12'30 6. # 9'20 7. # 5'46 8. # 6'56 9. # 3'36 For more, see Fred Moten: Sound in Florescence: Cecil [...] by Kenneth Goldsmith

Another Blog About Blogging April 15, 2007: Here is my greatest fear about blogging: It will suck up all my creative ideas—topics that really should belong in poems. There has to be some truth to this. I have not been writing many poems during this blogging period. Part of the problem is that I come to the blog in the same way that I come to a poem. I open a blank page and then I wait [...] by Kwame Dawes

The Complete Ezra Pound Recordings April 13, 2007: The Complete Ezra Pound Recordings (MP3) on PennSound. by Kenneth Goldsmith

What I Learned at the High School April 12, 2007: 1. Location, location, location. As soon as I entered the building I reverted to a 16 year old state. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was about to get in trouble for something. When my cell phone vibrated in my bag I thought, “oh no, it will be confiscated,” and walking through the halls hugely pregnant made me feel I’d brought shame [...] by Rachel Zucker

Oh, National Poetry Month… April 11, 2007: . …I’ve found your poster boy. This week I began a middle school residency, slinging a poem or two toward the impressionable young’uns, hoping to make a dent. Along with poets Roger Bonair-Agard and Fish Vargas, we bounced between 7th grade (delightful) and 8th grade (mega-surly) classrooms. At the end of the day, I headed for my car with [...] by Patricia Smith

A Few Good Poems April 11, 2007: Tomorrow morning I’m going to visit Fieldston, the high school I attended. I was graciously invited by poet Michael Morse who is also a teacher at Fieldston (See Verse Daily for one of Michael’s excellent poems.) Michael asked me to participate in a National Poetry Month assembly at the school where students and teachers will read short [...] by Rachel Zucker