Checking In On Refrigerator Poetry And Other Fads June 15, 2011: The Wall Street Journal explores the staying (or not) power of certain fad products, one of which is the now famed magnetic poetry adorning refrigerators from the Kappa Moose Wurlitzer frat house to the grandmother's of said frat members and beyond. It turns out, aside from a few missteps, that the creator of Magnetic Poetry, Dave Kapell, is doing [...] by Harriet Staff

Ride the Poetry Wave! No. Wave Hi to Poetry! No. Forthcoming Events from Wave Books. Fine. June 15, 2011: Two events to report from Wave Books. First, their Annual Poetry Festival: Wave’s Annual Poetry Festival 2011: Poetry in Translation Wave Books presents THREE DAYS OF POETRY IN TRANSLATION, November 4th through 6th, in association with the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington, featuring readings in the James Turrell [...] by Harriet Staff

Bill Murray Strikes Again June 15, 2011: Last year, Bill Murray stopped by the site of the new Poets House to read poems for the construction workers. This year, he flew in from filming for Wes Anderson's new movie Moonrise Kingdom to join the 16th annual Poetry Walk Across the Brooklyn Bridge. He read poems by Sarah Manguso, Cole Porter, and Billy Collins. With two black eyes. [...] by Harriet Staff

Help PEN Center USA Fight Unjust Treatment of Bahraini Poet Ayat Al-Gormezi June 15, 2011: As we noted on Monday, 20-year-old Bahraini poet Ayat Al-Gormezi has been sentenced to one year in prison for reading a poem at a pro-democracy rally in Pearl Square in Manama, Bahrain's capital, earlier this spring. The poem was critical of the current regime and deemed to incite hatred. Al-Gormezi claimed while in holding that she had been [...] by Harriet Staff

George Stanley Reads a Prose Statement About Poetry June 15, 2011: The Spring 2011 issue of The Capilano Review is all George Stanley (here here!), and includes pieces about, surrounding, or for Stanley by Kevin Killian, Joanne Kyger, Beverly Dahlen, Peter Culley, Bill Corbett, George Bowering, Meredith Quartermain, Lisa Jarnot, and many more. TCR has also posted on their blog a special recording, plucked [...] by Harriet Staff

A Look Inside The Poetry Society of America’s Chapbook Series June 15, 2011: Over at wwword.com, Lucy Sisman has written a nice feature on the PSA's Chapbook Series, with a focus on Gabriele Wilson's gorgeous work. She is the sole designer of all the winning chapbooks in the contest. Executive Director of the Society, Alice Quinn, has this to offer on the series itself: “It’s a contest for emerging writers; we [...] by Harriet Staff

Claudia Rankine Wins Busboys and Poets Award June 15, 2011: The Busboys and Poets Award, given through Virginia's Fall For The Book Festival and the restaurant, bookstore, fair trade market and gathering place based in Washington, DC the award is named after, goes to Claudia Rankine. A small write up on FFTBF's website can be found here. A brief video of Rankine speaking about great poems can be [...] by Harriet Staff

Whirl Up Sea: Tate Britain to Exhibit Unseen Vorticist Works June 14, 2011: Vorticism, a fairly small, short-lived (1914-1918) English avant-garde art and poetry movement, given its name by Ezra Pound and led by painter Wyndham Lewis, is due for a revival -- the last comprehensive show was in 1974, reports The Guardian. The Tate Britain is taking on the charge: The Vorticists: Manifesto for a Modern World is opening [...] by Harriet Staff

A Little Sex With Your Poetry Never Hurts June 14, 2011: Andy Engelson, a writer and editor living in Hanoi, Vietnam, along with his writing group, organized a poetry bordello. According to his blog post, Engleson was inspired by similar events hosted in New York and Chicago. From Engleson: So what exactly is a Poetry Bordello, you ask? Great question! Playing on the fact that poetry is [...] by Harriet Staff

The Stage of Seduction: Eric Whitacre on the Influence of Poetry in His Compositions June 14, 2011: Composer Eric Whitacre spoke with The Economistabout, among other things, the influence of poetry on his own work. He has written works based on the poems of Octavio Paz, an electronica-infused take on Paradise Lost, and a sort of Robert Frost homage. From the interview: Many of your pieces are influenced by poetry. What decides whether a [...] by Harriet Staff