Quick Review 01 September 30, 2007: ----------------- "My feelings of anger do not interfere with my work. In order to have good health, I have to act in a pleasing way to other more powerful individuals. At times I think people are trying to annoy me. I feel more angry about myself these days than I used to. More people than usual are beginning to make me feel angry. I am so angry [...] by Christian Bök

Anxiety, a rant in three fits September 30, 2007: Fit the First: Anxiety and Audience I was working on this post a while ago, perhaps an oblique response to Brian Phillips' essay among other conversations, and then got caught up in some other thoughts and discussions. But this still seems relevant, especially viewing recent comments to Christian's Failure posts (particularly Marty Elwell's). I [...] by A.E. Stallings

J’aime/Je n’aime pas September 28, 2007: Let’s take a break from theorizing (or not). Let’s play the J’aime/je n’aime pas game, which I am totally cribbing from the bloggers Jenny Davidson and Ed Park, who cribbed it from Roland Barthes, who said: (more...) by Ange Mlinko

Writing and Failure (Part 8) September 28, 2007: Readers of these posts about failure are offering lots of excellent responses to my provocations, and I am grateful for the interest. Some of you have suggested that the avant-garde indulges in asensual, abstract writing that disowns "figural" devices rooted in our "experience" of the world. I have tried to suggest, however, that (on the [...] by Christian Bök

Those Pesky Minority Poets September 28, 2007: You know, in light of the recent Poetry Society of America ruckus, in which board members Walter Mosley, Rafael Campo, Elizabeth Alexander and Mary Jo Salter resigned after comments made by the now-former board president William Louis-Dreyfus (after the contentious selection of the controversial John Hollander as this year’s recipient of the [...] by Rigoberto González

The Rainbow Connection September 28, 2007: A couple of my fellow blogsters also have little ones underfoot, so I’m sure they will appreciate the problem of “toddler music.” (I need to track down Steve’s suggestion of a couple of weeks ago.) I was given a four cd set of toddler tunes, and also own some Rafi and other singers big in the little people set. Yes, I know, there’s no [...] by A.E. Stallings

Writing and Failure (Part 7) September 26, 2007: Ange Mlinko has suggested in her recent post that the avant-garde avoids an engagment with the sensuality of experience, when in fact nearly every variety of avant-garde practice takes delight in the material pleasure of language itself—the jouissance of its phonemes and textures, often freed from the arduousness of sense. Ange admits to [...] by Christian Bök

Happy Birthday T.S. Eliot September 26, 2007: I was reminded by several people (and the Writer’s Almanac) that today is T.S. Eliot’s birthday. T. S. Eliot was one of my first loves as a forming poet. (more...) by A.E. Stallings

Wednesday Shout Out September 26, 2007: I sent the following piece as a replacement (that for some reason was never posted) for a poem that was included in my Top Five love poems feature on the Poetry Foundation website last Valentine’s Day. My translation of Pablo Neruda’s Sonnet XX could not be published online because of a copyright snag. I’m happy to present the replacement [...] by Rigoberto González

no telling September 25, 2007: It's not clear to me that the Internet is the best medium-- in fact, it's clear that it is not the best medium-- for long-form reflective, evaluative or detailedly analytic criticism of poetry, or of any other art form whose products are both durable and portable. (more...) by Stephen Burt