Dylan Thomas’s escape September 28, 2010: Planning a holiday in West Wales? If so, then visit the getaway home of poet Dylan Thomas.  The rocky retreat makes the Daily Mail's list of six things visitors must do in West Wales, plus there's a good tea room nearby to boot! From the Daily Mail: Poet Dylan Thomas's life was often turbulent, but he was happiest at The Boathouse in [...] by Poetry News

Spirit of Mary Ruefle captured by internet, will stream live September 28, 2010: Go to a poetry reading or sloth around the house in your Slanket? Tough choice. Well, now you can do both, because the eighth installment of HTMLGIANT's Live Giants online reading series is tonight. In honor of the release of Mary Ruefle’s Selected Poems, local poets in Chicago and New York—including such comrades of Harriet as Matthea [...] by Poetry News

The science of Dickinson caught on film September 28, 2010: Emily Dickinson's little-known scientific side is brought to light in Seeing New Englandly, a short film about the poet that premiers tonight at Amherst Cinema. Dickinson's extensive education in science was highly unusual for her  time: From the Boston Herald: The documentary features a number of poems and passages that reflect Dickinson’s [...] by Poetry News

Forbes-ing his own path September 28, 2010: The Giant Panda at the zoo just sits and chomps on fresh bamboo. His belly is like a cooking pot, Which happens when you eat a lot. He's content to do not much but chew. Which is all he seems to do (That and poo!) Robert Forbes, of the eponymous magazine, has finally followed up on his debut poetry book (Beastly Feasts) with another [...] by Harriet Staff

A closer look at what went on at VQR September 28, 2010: Two months after the death of Virginia Quarterly Review managing editor Kevin Morrissey—and the subsequent allegations of bullying by editor Ted Genoways—Slate offers some perspective: A closer look at what happened at VQR, informed by conversations with Genoways and most of his colleagues and by examining internal e-mails sent in the [...] by Harriet Staff

Franco’s favorite things September 28, 2010: James Franco is no poetic dilettante. He studied poetry at Warren Wilson College and is currently directing a series of poem-based short films. So what sort of poems resonate with the Renaissance man? Franco lists 18 of them, along with personal insights, for New York magazine—including Ginsberg's "America." Franco pontificates on his faves: [...] by Harriet Staff

Will rhyme for change September 28, 2010: Lisa Kaas Boyle has published a poem about climate change at the Huffington Post. We like the Dr. Seuss echoes (though we note with concern that she misspells his name), which prompt some wacky rhymes. Check it: "We've got to make noises in greater amounts! So open your mouth lad, for every voice counts!" Thus the world heard the lad and the [...] by Poetry News

Willy-nilly existence September 28, 2010: In 2002, Frank Bidart's Music Like Dirt was the first chapbook ever be a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Today, the sequence belongs to Star Dust, Bidart's latest celestial collection. Brian Miles of the Rumpus admits to having difficulty summing up Bidart's metaphysical meanderings: It’s very, very hard to do the collection justice in a [...] by Harriet Staff

Shel Silverstein, recording artist September 27, 2010: Shel Silverstein is best known for his fanciful children's poetry, so perhaps you were unaware of his very, ahem, adult side. Silverstein was Playboy's "cartoon-capturing foreign correspondent" as well as a prolific songwriter and burgeoning novelist, reports the Atlantic: Sticking only to the school-age side of the road means ignoring his [...] by Poetry News

Not that innocent September 27, 2010: War looks rather unsettling through the eyes of a not-so-innocent child. John Lucas wrote "Easter, 1944," a poem about war from a child's perspective, and Carol Rumens expertly fillets it in the Guardian, cooking up a well-done review with subtle hints of the poem's strength and sadness. First she chronicles the inner world a [...] by Poetry News