Sonnetude December 8, 2007: Maybe some people do want to be New Formalists after all. (I'm suddenly feeling better about the label myself!) At any rate everyone, it seems, has an opinion on form. And the poster child of form has to be the sonnet. We are in the midst of a sonnet explosion arguably on a par with the great 19th century revival. (The form had fallen into a [...] by A.E. Stallings

elizabeth hardwick 1916-2007 December 7, 2007: The critic, essayist, novelist and editor Elizabeth Hardwick died last week at the age of 91. Most of the memorial writing about her will emphasize either her founding role at the New York Review of Books, or her marriage to Robert Lowell--- but she should be remembered for more than that. If you read Ian Hamilton's biography of Lowell, you [...] by Stephen Burt

The Shrubberies December 7, 2007: Ronald Johnson (1935-1998) died at the age of 62 in his home state of Kansas (after an extended stay in San Francisco), leaving behind a notable legacy of verse that has influenced a number of young writers experimenting with language and form. Besides eight poetry books (many of them shamefully out of print) he also produced five cookbooks on [...] by Rigoberto González

Harvest December 7, 2007: Over the weekend we managed to abstract ourselves from the Concrete City, and drive down into the Peloponnese to Sparta. Outside of Sparta, heading up into the foothills of Taygetus, our friend, poet Mark Sargent, has a house with spectacular views of the mountain range (famed as a spot for exposing less-than-perfect Spartan infants in ancient [...] by A.E. Stallings

What’s In & What’s Out -2008 (Part I) December 5, 2007: I love year-ending "What's In & What's Out" lists for the upcoming year. They are authoritative, self-generating, biased, and goofy. I thought I'd get a head-start on the pundits. The list kept going, so I'll post over a few days. I hope you enjoy. With consultation from some friends, here is the start of a provocative list, sure to test the [...] by Major Jackson

Wednesday Shout Out December 5, 2007: Last week I attended a New York City book party in celebration of the release of Stephen Cramer’s second book of poems. It took place in the quirky Telephone Bar & Grill on 2nd Avenue, just south of St. Mark’s. Those familiar film crew trailers were parked along the avenue and East Village dwellers simply went about their evening as the [...] by Rigoberto González

noble numbers… and mean girls December 4, 2007: I promised on Monday to say more this week about that exchange on poetry, poetry-publishing, and gender in the Chicago Review, and now I'm going to say it: I'll start with some objections to both sides. Jennifer Ashton, if you'll remember back that far, started a brouhaha about gender and poetry publishing by alleging that folks who still made [...] by Stephen Burt

Some Thoughts on a Snowy Day in Vermont December 4, 2007: December 4, 2007 - 8:43am When I moved to Vermont, I knew I was signing up for long winters, which was fine by me, because I knew the cold, hard days and nights would be ameliorated by crackling fires, books, and scotch. Even still, I longed for the balmy, humid Decembers of New Orleans. Weatherwise, relocation to the north was terribly [...] by Major Jackson

Perchance to Poetry Prof December 4, 2007: I’ve been a bit swamped at the end of the semester with a number of academic obligations that it’s been tough to keep up with this one, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. A few years ago I made up my mind that I was going to be what some so pejoratively referred to as “an academic poet.” The definition I had always heard was that [...] by Rigoberto González

Who do you take me for, your personal doctor of philosophy? December 4, 2007: "The degree to which rejection of traditional forms was part of the renewal of poetry of the twentieth century varied, of course, from country to country. In England it was never as pronounced as in the United States. And Reginald Gibbons once observed that 'the modern avant-garde in Spain,' by comparison with their American counterparts, 'felt [...] by Don Share