Final version of Celan’s The Meridian published May 11, 2011: Both Hyperion Art Journal and Charles Bernstein have pointed out that Paul Celan's The Meridian, a speech written for his 1960 acceptance of the Georg Büchner Prize in literature, has been republished in a definitive edition by Stanford University Press, translated by Pierre Joris and edited by Bernhard Böschenstein and Heino Schmull. The [...] by Harriet Staff

Boo-Hooray presents the lifework of Angus MacLise May 11, 2011: BOMBLOG has got us dreaming of Lou Reed's "dream person" -- that's the Velvet Underground's first drummer, Angus MacLise, who left the band when he realized that having a paying gig meant he had to start and stop playing when he was told to. Being the band's original percussionist may be what he's known for, but MacLise was also a poet, [...] by Harriet Staff

The Tide, Part 2: Objective Chance May 11, 2011: There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows, and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat; And we must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures. —Julius Caesar, IV.3.218-224 Aside from inducing me to let go of [...] by Garrett Caples

On the set with Nick Flynn May 10, 2011: by Harriet Staff

Wisconsin protest poetry civilizes the debate May 10, 2011: The Fon Du Lac Reporter talks to Sarah Busse and Wendy Vardaman, co-editors of the journal Verse Wisconsin about their recent call for poetry tackling the political battles in the state. They have received 150-200 submissions in genres that range far outside of poetry, including "songs, music videos, art and essays," a sign that public debate is [...] by Harriet Staff

The Victorians put the OMGLOLROFL in poetry May 10, 2011: Book Southern Africa points its readers to a video at Carte Blanche examining the similarities between English-language SMS-speak and experimental Victorian poetry. Both of these make use of what British Library curator Roger Walshe refers to as "emblematic poetry," where one writes in a combination of numbers and letters. This was so common in [...] by Harriet Staff

Rare William Fuller interview posted on Flood Editions May 10, 2011: Michael Cross, on his blog The Disinhibitor, has written about poet William Fuller, who JH Prynne has called the “Secrecy Officer of American Poetry,” and his new book, Hallucination, which is excitingly just out on Flood Editions. In addition, Flood has recently reposted a very rare interview with Fuller, who has for years been employed [...] by Harriet Staff

China bars poet Liao Yiwu from attending Sydney Writers’ Festival May 10, 2011: According to The Guardian today, Chinese authorities have once again barred the poet Liao Yiwu—author of the heavily censored book The Corpse Walker—from traveling to read from and discuss his poetry and work, this time denying Yiwu permission to attend the Sydney Writers' Festival later in May. China barred Yiwu just last month from [...] by Harriet Staff

Oh, the Serious Crisis in Higher Ed May 10, 2011: For poets in today’s economy, joining the academic ranks is a fairly common trajectory. Certainly there’s no shortage of love for pedagogy, knowledge, and research; but ah, what demands of the poetry marketplace, should you care for it, and lack of cultural support we contend with, at times. Really, poets need employment (among everyone). [...] by Harriet Staff

Close reading public transit: Take me somewhere RAINIER, away from all this IKEA May 10, 2011: On his Human Transit blog, public transportation expert Jarrett Walker ("probably the only person with peer-reviewed publications in both the Journal of Transport Geography and Shakespeare Quarterly") takes on the messy, poetic beauty of poorly designed scrolling bus signage. You know you've done it: waiting at a bus stop, you squint down the road [...] by Harriet Staff