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Headlines: NEVERMORE!

By Travis Nichols

No, dear hearts, I am not made of stone.  I am not some blog hog tyrant who can’t listen to reason.  So when you say, hey, bubba, those headlines on Harriet this month are kind of “annoying,” when you say they “clog the RSS feed,” and that “no one in their right mind cares about D.I.Y. magnetic poetry,” and “Why don’t you take your Seamus Heaney bikini and get lost,” yeah, I hear you.  I get it! Seriously!  Like Tropicana and Facebook, I am adaptable.

So, even though I pledged to report the news every day on Harriet for National Poetry Month, I hereby declare, with the grace and aplomb we’ve all come to expect from a blogger: fuggit.  It is annoying, and it clogs the RSS feed, and very few people care about D.I.Y. magnetic poetry kits.

But don’t cry, those few who care about such things!  The news lives on!  If you want to keep up, the headlines still have their own page, and poetry news is also atwittering here.  Twittering!  And I’ll resume posting once a week about a news story with the depth and character worthy of the blogosphere.

But Harriet?  As you were.

2009-04-10

Comments (15)

  • On April 10, 2009 at 1:55 pm Annie Finch wrote:

    Damn! I just finally got home to reliable wifi and am catching up on Harriet and clicking on all your headlines, Travis, and I think they are way cool and varied and fascinating, and i TOTALLY care about DIY magnetic poetry kits.

    See you on the News page…

    Annie
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  • On April 10, 2009 at 2:47 pm Martin Earl wrote:

    I second Annie, Travis – I was becoming totally addicted, and now you say I need to go to another page. It’s like moving to another country. I hope I don’t fall off a bridge or something on my way there!
    Martin
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  • On April 10, 2009 at 3:57 pm Iain wrote:

    Don’t give in to the vocal minority. This type of “clutter” is part of what blogs are so well suited for.

    I also didn’t care much about the magnetic poetry link, which is why I didn’t click on it (which turns out to be a far more productive way of dealing with things one isn’t interested in). I guess people haven’t figured out that the internet isn’t a book; you don’t have to read every page.
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  • On April 10, 2009 at 5:47 pm Rich Villar wrote:

    Says the Latino poet: I hate vocal minorities.
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  • On April 10, 2009 at 5:56 pm Monica Fambrough wrote:

    Now it looks like there should be a vote: news on the blog or no news on the blog?

    (For my part I sort of liked it…)
    Report this comment

  • On April 10, 2009 at 11:34 pm Gary B. Fitzgerald wrote:

    We have Ron Silliman and Jilly Dybka (Poetry Hut) for links to news. Harriet should focus on and encourage debate.
    Report this comment

  • On April 11, 2009 at 8:10 am thomas brady wrote:

    Gary,

    “Encourage debate?”

    Noooooo!

    Debate is venomous!

    Thomas
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  • On April 11, 2009 at 8:19 am Former Berkeley Girl wrote:

    Ah, Thomas, I never said that. Please don’t twist my words.

    FBG
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  • On April 11, 2009 at 9:53 am Jack Conway wrote:

    “Debate is venomous!”
    ONLY IF DONE CORRECTLY.
    Report this comment

  • On April 11, 2009 at 5:20 pm Ian wrote:

    I did wonder why the news section was being copied and pasted into the blog section.
    Report this comment

  • On April 12, 2009 at 11:59 am Jason Guriel wrote:

    Travis, your ‘surrender’ DOES have grace. And humour, too.

    For what it’s worth, I liked the headlines. But I wonder if once every other day would be enough? Anyway, something to think about for next April…
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  • On April 13, 2009 at 8:52 am Ian wrote:

    At first I was excited as I am addicted to reading the poetry news in the news section every day. But when the news stories appeared to be basically the same as in the news section I lost interest. However, I suspect that those who did not like it do not read the news section anyway and have no interest in it.

    I think it would have been more interesting (for me anyway) if you had scoured the internet/world for some really interesting or unusual/funny or bizarre poetry news stories that were different to the news section and then maybe a couple of sentences about each news story to start debate/discussion (or perhaps just picked one story). Just a thought.
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  • On April 13, 2009 at 12:35 pm Catherine Halley wrote:

    Well, we’re happy everyone now knows there’s a news section. It will continue to be updated as it has been. We do want Harriet to be a place for discussion, so we’ll keep the news items in the news section, and maintain Harriet as an area for meatier posts.

    You can yell me if you don’t like it–
    Cathy
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  • On April 13, 2009 at 12:41 pm Travis Nichols wrote:

    Hi all,

    Thanks for the feedback. I think I agree with Ian, Jason, Cathy and Gary B. that the news isn’t a very efficient use of Harriet’s space, and that it’s better to pick out a story or two over the course of a week and post more in-depth about it/them. But do check out the news page, and feel free to shoot me an email if any of the stories seem to have “legs,” or if there’s something I’m missing.

    Cheers,
    Travis
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  • On April 13, 2009 at 2:55 pm Chuck Godwin wrote:

    Travis,
    I, too, appreciate(d) the headlines. I would have missed Wyatt Mason on Seidel save for your posting. And, DIY Magnetic Poetry might not be Shakespeare or even Seidel, but has it niche. thanks again.
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Posted in Group Blog, Uncategorized on Friday, April 10th, 2009 by Travis Nichols.

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