The Constant Critic on friendly fire May 19, 2010: Vanessa Place reviews Rachel Zolf's Neighbor Procedure: This, to me, is the larger point. For it is at the very moment when you are confronted in your very own back yard (or at least a communal turf) with what you find inappropriate, insensitive, inane, incomprehensible and just plain stupid, that tolerance becomes actually pertinent. After [...] by Harriet Staff

Paste Magazine gets a Sore Throat May 19, 2010: Perennial National Magazine Award finalist Paste Magazine checks out Aaron Kunin's The Sore Throat and Other Poems: A master of both lyrical balance and fine, angst-ridden storytelling, he serves up this collection with a defiant bent that shines through a great deal of raw self-awareness . . . by Harriet Staff

“A poem about different sized pearls falling on a jade plate” May 18, 2010: There's a poem at the heart of David Lynch's epic Christian Dior ad starring Marion Cotillard.  Slate calls it Lynch's "best work since Mulhulland Drive." They might be joking. But then again they might not be joking: by Poetry News

Laureates of the Lawn: Wimbledon 2010 to feature poets May 18, 2010: FOX News has the story: The country that gave the world Shakespeare and Wordsworth is adding poetic flair to this year's Wimbledon. The All England Club said Tuesday they have appointed a "Championships Poet" to write a poem each day that sums up the matches and atmosphere of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament . . . by Poetry News

The Governator picks WriteGirl May 18, 2010: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger picked the literary organization WriteGirl as the California Non-Profit of the Year: Founded in December 2001, WriteGirl matches aspiring teen writers with mentors who coach them in many different styles of writing: nonfiction, screenplays, songwriting, even poetry. WriteGirls and their mentors meet [...] by Harriet Staff

The world is your fridge May 18, 2010: Here's a website with a big ol' magnetic poetry field to play in. by Poetry News

Oxford poetry race heads into the final stretch May 18, 2010: The candidates for the Oxford poetry post--unfilled since last year's Derek Walcott kerfuffle--make their cases to the elders and the public.  The  Guardian has the story (and probably will continue to have it until June 18 when the voting closes): Promises to use poetry as a "weapon, bloodsoaked and glinting" and plans for a poetry slam [...] by Harriet Staff

Charles Simic at the Bombsite May 18, 2010: Former poet laureate Charles Simic, interviewed at Bomb magazine about the re-release of his Serbian poetry anthology, shows off his mordant wit: SD: What is your proudest accomplishment? CS: Managing to get out of bed every morning . . . by Harriet Staff

Emily Dickinson, outlaw of Amherst May 18, 2010: Holland Cutter, the New York Times art critic, tells all about his love for the other 19th century American poet containing multitudes: But why do we so badly need to have this poet paired off with someone? Why do we need to make a failure in love — and because Dickinson was single, failure is always assumed — the explanation for her art? [...] by Poetry News

The commingling of poetry and smoke May 17, 2010: Poet and essaysist John Olson reviews The Recumbant Galaxy by George Kalamaras (pictured) and Alvaro Cordona-Hine on Tillalala Chronicle: The Recumbent Galaxy is, quite literally, two books in one. It is the product of two authors, Alvaro Cardona-Hine and George Kalamaras. It is a collaborative work, though not in the sense that two [...] by Harriet Staff