Marianne Moore and Revolution November 27, 2007: Was it really four years ago already that the new edition of The Poems of Marianne Moore was published? I remember standing in a bookstore in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with a new baby, worshipfully cradling that expensive hardcover. And then, rashly, buying it. I dug it out today to re-read an obscure, previously uncollected poem from 1919 called [...] by Ange Mlinko

Poet Memoirists November 27, 2007: I never took a creative nonfiction writing class, yet I wrote a memoir and now teach creative nonfiction (or, more specifically, memoir writing) at Queens College and for the Vermont College of Fine Arts. It’s actually my favorite writing genre to teach because the stories I come across are rarely disappointing—people are passionate about [...] by Rigoberto González

the kids want more poems! November 27, 2007: ...as Major says below. Sometimes the kids, especially if they're still in school, just want more time to read: today at the Beacon blog education writer Chris Mercagliano has more on that depressing NEA report about how much young people do and don't read. (I had something about Adrienne Rich at the Beacon blog myself last week; if you are a Rich [...] by Stephen Burt

More Academic Bashing: The Kids Want More November 27, 2007: I admire David Mason’s article “The Limits of the Literary Movement” in the December ’07 issue of AWP’s The Writer’s Chronicle. Mr. Mason rightly calls our attention to the injustice of off-handedly lumping poets according to whatever school of poetics they practice or are historically associated. I, like him, have shuddered at the [...] by Major Jackson

Poetic Machines 05 November 26, 2007: ----------- "I can do what you do, but I can never feel human emotions as such. I suppose that it does. Yes I think that this is too soft, but I’m not completely sure. This seems okay to me. What is not to like about it? Yes, I think that this is how I like it, but I’m not completely sure. Yes, I think that this is alright, but I’m not [...] by Christian Bök

Poetry and Prophecy November 26, 2007: Poetry and Prophecy For the ancients, the two were very much intertwined—prophecies were given in verse, and one word for poet in Latin is “vates”—prophet. Both poets and prophets were supposed to be enthused—en-god-ed—inspired by forces outside themselves. (Virgil’s works were even used in the Middle Ages for prophesy by the [...] by A.E. Stallings

A Note on Christian Wiman’s Reading of Basil Bunting November 25, 2007: After more or less admitting that I think exhortations to political poetry are essentially religious, I finally get my hands on a copy of Ambition and Survival: Becoming a Poet. There, in a brief on poetry and religion, Wiman writes, citing Tillich, “Art needs some ultimate concern.” At every turn, it seems, poetry is turned into a vehicle: [...] by Ange Mlinko

“My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love” November 25, 2007: Today was one sensuous experience after another. After a NY Knicks basketball game in Madison Square Garden, (my first and they won against the Chicago Bulls!) I visited the Whitney Museum to absorb more of the great Kara Walker, whose 3rd floor exhibit “My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love” seemed very much a retrospective of her [...] by Major Jackson

prosopagnosic poetics, or facing up to oneself November 22, 2007: What do these three things have to do with one another? 1. Lat week I gave a reading in a black box theater on the campus of a great university in a small state. I liked the students a lot-- I even liked all their questions (Q&A periods are inherently flattering to the answerer). One student wanted to know (I paraphrase) whether I considered [...] by Stephen Burt

No Contest November 22, 2007: I, as probably several of my fellow-bloggers here, published my first book as the result of a contest. In fact, the manuscript had been making the rounds for years, ever a finalist, never a bride. By the time it did win, and the $1000 check arrived, I had probably spent--who knows--twice? that on entry fees, copying, and postage. But what to [...] by A.E. Stallings