OCHO#22: DEAR AMERICA, DON’T BE MY VALENTINE February 7, 2009: Miguel Murphy (Editor) discussed his call for submissions for this issue of OCHO in his intelligent, passionate, and poetic guest post here on Harriet. I just wanted to say that the issue is now available and features the wonderful work of the following poets: Eduardo C. Corral, Mary Meriam, Jeremy Halinen, Christine Leclerc, C. Dale Young, Julie [...] by Javier Huerta

The Poetry in the Prose: Part One (and If You Haven’t Read The Savage Detectives Consider Yourself Spoiler Alerted) February 6, 2009: The only piece missing from The Savage Detectives, Roberto Bolaño’s 648-page puzzle of a novel about avant-garde poets in Mexico, is, oddly enough, their poetry. In an online conversation with David Orr and Marcela Valdes, Carmine Starnino points out that this poetry “is, quite likely, terrible,” especially since Bolaño’s poets spend [...] by Jason Guriel

Letter from London February 6, 2009: I'm just back from a whirlwind peek at the ins and outs of the British poetry scene, and I have lots to report. Before AWP I thought I'd post a few snapshots, snap judgements, and other impressions about a poet's lot on the other side of the big puddle. . . . Inside the Poetry Cafe, Poetry Society, Betterton Street My first day in England, I [...] by Annie Finch

Prufrock Moment February 5, 2009: There’s a particularly lovely bit in Stephen Colbert’s interview with Elizabeth Alexander the night after the inauguration. Colbert: [mock-pathetic] “Poems aren’t true, right? They’re made up, right…because I recently read this thing called The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock which is about a guy, you know, in his mid-40s like I am, [...] by Daisy Fried

Serious Play and Dental Surgery February 3, 2009: Robert Frost called poetry "serious play" and this month's Scientific American makes a claim for its primal importance to childhood development (they don't mention poetry explicitly, but we know what they really mean). The magazine cites new studies that say children need unstructured free play for proper cognitive development. This "free [...] by Travis Nichols

¡El que no brinque es migra! February 3, 2009: My first creative attempts as a child were narcocorridos. Influenced by movies and songs like La Banda del Carro Rojo, my friends, cousins, brothers, and I played “narcotraficantes,” a game that always ended in the heroic tragic death of the narcos. As we lay on the ground, I composed corridos that narrated the events of our role-play. My [...] by Javier Huerta

I’ve decided to draw poems… February 2, 2009: Jason Guriel recently took a keen-eyed look at the visual poetry we presented in the November 2008 issue of Poetry. One of our readers, Jerry Payne, in Clearwater, Florida, wrote in to say: "Look, let’s call “visual poetry” what it really is—visual art. Some of us are in love with language and the way in which words—just words—can be [...] by Don Share