We Know What We Like… October 19, 2010: ...and what we like are videos of kids reading Gertrude Stein. Here's another: by Poetry News

Wild and rhyme-free verse October 19, 2010: In this week's poem analysis for Slate, Robert Pinsky illustrates how poems can possess sonic harmony without end rhyme. The robot-enthusiast and former laureate uses Robert Frost's blank verse "An Old Man's Winter Night" and William Carlos Williams' free verse "To Waken an Old Lady" to illustrate his point. From Slate: In keeping with my [...] by Harriet Staff

Frank Bidart shows James Franco the beauty of darkness October 19, 2010: Coninciding with the release of his short story collection, Palo Alto, James Franco has rounded up a few of his favorite books for the Daily Beast. The usual suspects make the list — Faulkner, Hemingway— as well as poets Bukowski and Bidart.  Our bookish heartthrob continues to make reading sexy, one graphic and jarring poem at a [...] by Poetry News

Favored ghosts, recommended goblins October 19, 2010: The spooky season is upon us, but it won't last for long. Before the jack-o-lanterns start rotting on the front porch and while the pre-Halloween candy is still stuck in your teeth (talkin' to you, Claude Levi-Strauss!), enjoy some poetry with a spectral presence. The New York Times recommends six ghoulish collections, among them Nathalie Handal's [...] by Harriet Staff

Who’s Who? October 19, 2010: The Miami Herald ran an interesting article on Latino poetry this weekend, which suggests that younger Latino poets are writing less from the perspective of a shared cultural experience, and more from the individual experience of being ambiguously marked in a multicultural and global world. For example, the article quotes poet Adrian Castro: I [...] by Poetry News

Old news but good news, Nathaniel Mackey edition October 19, 2010: City Lights has compiled the first three volumes of From a Broken Perfume Bottle Traces of Perfume Still Emanate by poet and novelist Nathaniel Mackey: The great American jazz novel of "such exquisite rhythmic lyricism" (Bookforum) by National Book Award Winner Nathaniel Mackey. From a Broken Bottle Traces of Perfume Still Emanate: Volumes 1-3 [...] by Harriet Staff

Pirates of the Netibbean October 19, 2010: Frameworks is a listserv that list-serves the community surrounding experimental film, and whose archives are public. Recently, it was impromptu forum for a debate about whether or not to celebrate the hacking of UbuWeb. One of the participants claimed that the hacking was “good news” for all those opposed to Ubu’s supposed piracy. Other [...] by Poetry News

The LeBron James Poetry Contest October 18, 2010: Breaking news! Time is running out! You only have a couple of more days to submit to the first annual LeBron James Poetry Contest! The rules: The poem can utilize any poetic form (haiku, rhyming couplets, limerick, free verse, etc.) but it cannot exceed six lines (LeBron’s jersey is #6). The prize: The winner will read his/her poem [...] by Poetry News

Observing “Poetry” October 18, 2010: Lee Chang-dong’s latest film, "Poetry" (Cannes excerpt above), is about an elderly woman who takes up the art as a means of coping with Alzheimer’s. Through her poetry, she explores "what it means to practice a dying art in an atmosphere surrounded by death," writes Christopher Bourne for Asian American magazine Meniscus: While Mi-ja [...] by Poetry News

Jack Powers October 18, 2010: Jack Powers, the founder of Boston's Stone Soup reading series, has died at 73. For nearly 40 years, Powers worked to bring poetry from the academy to the people. At Stone Soup readings, poets of every stripe shared their work, their opinions, and their stories. From the Boston Globe: Years before poetry slams made open mike nights [...] by Harriet Staff