Lucille Clifton May 16, 2007: Lucille Clifton’s poetry is a gift. There is no question in my mind about this. Yet when I think of Lucille Clifton, I realize that I think of the two occasions when I had the chance to listen to her talk to a group of gifted black poets about poetry. The curious thing for me was that her talk reminded of someone who in many ways is as far away [...] by Kwame Dawes

It’s All About Me. Kinda. Almost. May 16, 2007: When you do as many readings as I do, in venues from crumbling speakeasies to Japanese stadiums; when you stand in front of countless classrooms trying to inspire the younguns while they pop bubblegum, update their lip gloss and text message the person sitting next to them; when you sweat over the stanzas in your next book, hoping someone across [...] by Patricia Smith

The Academy May 16, 2007: Without the academy, as I poet I don't exist. I have almost no readership (thinkership) outside the academy. This is not a choice of mine: it's is a condition that preceded my arrival onto the writing scene, fostered by numerous cultural conditions in the States -- primarily by the precedent set by the warm reception of Language Poetry by the [...] by Kenneth Goldsmith

writing a political poem May 14, 2007: When I was in my senior year of college, I was dating the granddaughter of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and I found myself wanting to address their execution in a poem. I had passionate feelings about her, and the execution of her grandparents. The intensity of my feelings was actually a barrier to accessing something authentic. I quickly found how [...] by Jeffrey McDaniel

My Mother May 13, 2007: I’ve been thinking a lot about my mom recently. Maybe it’s all the Mother’s Day hoopla or maybe it’s because I cannot consider the question of why I enjoy poetry readings or why (thanks Jeffrey) I might not suck as a reader without thinking about and acknowledging my mother, Diane Wolkstein. My mother is a famous storyteller. I grew up [...] by Rachel Zucker

Mom? May 13, 2007: My mother is more than 70 years old. She is not sickly or forgetful or frail, but she is strange. Annie Pearl Smith was part of the great early 1950s migration of blacks from the south to the cluttered and chaotic west and northside neighborhoods of Chicago. She searched for a factory and found it—a place where she could create drone with her [...] by Patricia Smith

Why not the toes? May 13, 2007: At Paper Thin Walls, Poetry Foundation writer Brandon Stosuy on Lexie Mountain Boys: "The act skirts a line between spastic theater and avant-savant sound poetry slam (dancing)—sometimes it works, other times it's just loud." (more...) by Ed Park

More “Political Poetry” May 11, 2007: In an earlier post of a few days ago ("Political Poetry"), I spoke of political poetry and I asked folks to share some of the political poems that they admire here in the US. The list began, and I hoped it would continue. But it has not continued. I am curious about how "poltical" is defined. Would Robert Pinsky be safely called a political poet? [...] by Kwame Dawes

Music May 11, 2007: My children are musicians. In this I am living a desire vicariously through them. I have been scrupulous about avoiding that kind of thing. After all, while it seems quite difficult to come up with any unselfish reason for having children, to blatantly try to live out one’s fantasies through them seems somewhat self-involved and, at worst, a [...] by Kwame Dawes

Have you said your something yet? May 11, 2007: At a conference last month, I conducted a writing workshop for foster kids. That’s not quite as simple as it sounds. Some had witnessed the murder of their parents. Others had been emotionally or physically abused for most of their young lives, or had been forced to watch their mothers or fathers succumb the ravages of drugs. One young girl had [...] by Patricia Smith