Ann Lauterbach on Wealth, Fame and Power: January 17, 2009: Art is not entertainment, and it is not decor. It is one of the rude fallacies of our time to want to reduce all art forms, and in particular literary arts, to their most facile and elemental role, and so deny their potential to awaken, provoke and elicit our glee at being agents in the construction of meaning. As Martha Nussbaum points out, "We [...] by Linh Dinh

Power, Money and Fame January 16, 2009: Linh: Everyone wants power. And money. And fame. Get over it.--Kenneth Goldsmith I don't seem to want power or money or fame. I only seem to want food and shelter, (library) books and good friends.--Unreliable Narrator He said, she said, but I say that if power, money and fame are your primary objectives in life, then poetry is a dismal career [...] by Linh Dinh

Schlechte Zeit für Lyrik January 16, 2009: I had thought I should begin my stint here at Harriet with a kind of introductory blog, one that would discuss, what else, my ideas and me. But I’ve changed my mind. Three days ago Kenneth Goldsmith’s post took up a question which, in a word, begs the question. It has already received over sixty comments, which makes it a kind of overnight [...] by Martin Earl

In Defense of Dial-up Blogging and, Generally Speaking, Taking It Slow January 14, 2009: I’ve never blogged before. That sounds like an air-clearing confession, and in some ways, it is. Although I enjoy blogs, I have always done so covertly – which means I’ve been the sort of person who responds to a blog by E-mailing its author privately instead of posting a response publicly. One’s most intimate E-mail is always, of course, [...] by Jason Guriel

Rodrigo Toscano’s Collapsible Poetics Theater and Other Poetic Concerns January 14, 2009: Mark Nowak wrote a post last week in which he asked, “How does poetry address a working world that is not so stringently nation-bound?” This is an issue that I constantly think about. I feel compelled and I admire poets (in temperament, aesthetic or subject) who critique and respond to the careening forces of Globalization as well as the [...] by Cathy Park Hong

OBAMA MEMORABILIA January 14, 2009: I hadn’t given it a neuron, but a month ago Chicago native and poet Glory Roberts Warfield (distant cousin of opera’s William Warfield) alerted me about the significance of items even vaguely related to the President-Elect—magazines with Obama covers were being snatched off the racks and store shelves. Ho-hum but hmmm, I thought. Glory had [...] by Wanda Coleman

W.D. Snodgrass has Died January 14, 2009: The Syracuse Post-Standard reports that Pulitzer Prize winning poet W.D. Snodgrass died early yesterday morning at his home after a long battle with lung cancer. The blog post includes a video of the poet's last public reading, as well as further details. David Yezzi also reports the news on the Best American Poetry blog, and Edward Byrnne gives [...] by Travis Nichols

On Advice to Young Poets: an excerpt from The Monk by Matthew G. Lewis January 13, 2009: ‘My verses, my Lord?’ ‘Nay, I am sure that you have been writing some, for nothing else could have kept you awake till this time of the morning. Where are they, Theodore? I shall like to see your composition.’ Theodore’s cheeks glowed with still deeper crimson: He longed to show his poetry, but first chose to be pressed for [...] by Javier Huerta

It’s Always a Bad Time For Poetry January 13, 2009: On the evening of Rosh Hashana this past fall, I sat listening to my stockbroker and lawyer cousins freak out that the stock market had just dropped nearly 800 points that day. They were sweating bullets as I sat quietly and listened. When the conversation came around to me, I shrugged and quoting Brecht, stated that it's always bad time for [...] by Kenneth Goldsmith

Mystery & Birds: 5 Ways to Practice Poetry January 13, 2009: Joshua Marie Wilkinson is putting together a group of micro-essay for teaching poetry to beginning writers. Though I'm not really a teacher, he asked me nonetheless. And since I have so many dear dear friends beginning their semesters this week, this goes out to them. Thanks JMW for inviting me to participate. Mystery & Birds: 5 Ways to Practice [...] by Ada Limón