Critic Adam Kirsch on liberal disappointment in Obama August 20, 2010: In a recent New York Review of Books essay titled "Why Has He Fallen Short?," Frank Rich lamented the disillusionment among liberals with the Obama administration. Adam Kirsch, a senior editor of The New Republic and Poetry contributor, responds with his own essay about the liberal’s love/hate relationship with Obama. In “Great Books or Great [...] by Harriet Staff

University of Virginia to officially review goings on at Virginia Quarterly Review August 20, 2010: The Washington Post reports that the president of UVA, Teresa Sullivan, has ordered an official inquiry into what led up to Kevin Morrissey's suicide: "The untimely death of Kevin Morrissey . . . has caused a great deal of pain for his family, friends and colleagues," Sullivan said in a statement. "It has also raised questions about the [...] by Harriet Staff

Williams on Whitman August 20, 2010: On Whitman by Pulitzer prize-winning poet C. K. Williams is part critical analysis and part ode of appreciation. Williams mostly reminds us of all there is to love about Whitman, though he does point out that the poet wasn’t perfect. Whitman fiddled with Leaves of Grass throughout his life and could’ve used a good editor here and there. [...] by Harriet Staff

Is poetry to blame for the deterioration of the English language? August 20, 2010: Well, that’s what Jonathan Swift thought. He blamed rule-bending poets in his 18th-century “Proposal for Correcting, Improving and Ascertaining the English Tongue” for diluting the strength of the English language. Two centuries later, Alison Flood at the Guardian (who admits to getting a little persnickety about language) uses Swift’s [...] by Harriet Staff

America’s bestselling poet is Muslim August 20, 2010: Back in the 13th century, Rumi was loved by Christians, Muslims and Jews alike. Rumi’s prolific production of bite-sized verses now feeds the American appetite for easy-to-digest wisdom and morality. Or maybe he’s the best-selling poet in America today because his poetry is simple, clear and speaks the truth—no matter what religion you call [...] by Poetry News

“Had we but world enough, and time, / This coyness, lady, were no crime” August 19, 2010: Professor, poet and critic Maureen McLane talks to the Economist about World Enough, her second poetry collection. Rhythm, form and the notion of “place” as both a physical and emotional state all figure prominently into poems. She notes that many worlds pass through each one of us, and it can be hard to know which one is enough. From the [...] by Harriet Staff

The 2010 Ruth Lilly Fellowship Award winners August 19, 2010: The Poetry Foundation has just announced the five winners of this year’s Ruth Lilly Fellowships. Brooklyn Copeland, Miriam Bird Greenberg, Nate Klug, Dora Malech, and Christopher Shannon were selected from over 1,000 applicants to be honored with the $15,000 scholarship prize. Each year, five Lilly Fellowships are awarded to aspiring poets [...] by Poetry Foundation

Kid reading Billy Collins poem August 19, 2010: Y'all probably saw this yesterday, but still. by Poetry News

An essential poetry app as addictive as raspberries August 19, 2010: This morning, the New York Times rounded up poetry smartphone apps and we were quite flattered to find our app listed as "essential." The article made special mention of the app’s “spin” feature, which allows users to pair moods and categories like “joy” and “family” to see what the poetry slot-machine magic comes up [...] by Poetry Foundation

Politics goes poetic in Berkeley August 19, 2010: It could only happen in Berkeley: In lieu of submitting a candidate’s ballot statement for his fifth bid for the Berkeley City Council, Kriss Worthington turned in a poem instead. Worthington drew inspiration from Avotcja, a poet and instrumental, whose recent performance spurred him to take a creative route to the City Council. Here's a [...] by Poetry News