A quiet process: The Rumpus interviews Jolie Holland September 16, 2011: Singer-songwriter and writer-writer Jolie Holland talks about her writing life, her love for Chinese music, and her new album, Pint of Blood, over at The Rumpus. In a piece written for Poetry back in January, Holland said, "To be very clear, the sensation [of poetry] is like having an acupuncture needle placed at one’s crown point, at the top of [...] by Harriet Staff

Discovered: XXX-y poem by Frederick the Great September 16, 2011: More than 200 years after the Prussian monarch's death, a copy of an original poem by Frederick the Great has been discovered, reports Bloomberg News, The Local (Germany's news in English), and The Telegraph. Not just any poem, but an erotic one! Called, no less, "La Jouissance"! Knew that guy was on to something. Writes The [...] by Harriet Staff

Jimmy “The Greek” Behrle Makes His Picks in Haiku September 16, 2011: Over at The Awl, Jim Behrle makes this week's NFL football predictions in Haiku. They're pretty funny. As are the drawings. And, for the record, he only picked six (pick six!) out of sixteen correct last week. It's a long season, Jimmy. Pick yourself up, get your syllables back in order, get out there and hit somebody. Clear eyes, full hearts, [...] by Harriet Staff

“…they don’t want to eat us, they just want us to hold them until they die.”: An Interview with Zach Schomburg September 16, 2011: Zach Schomburg, four of the tentacles in Octopus Books and Magazine (the other four, Mathias Svalina, are Tweeting for Harriet as we speak), takes part in an interview in the first installment of Tin House's "Small Press Beat", a monthly column that features interviews with small press publishers, helmed by Poor Claudia's own Drew Scott [...] by Harriet Staff

2011 Attention Span: the books, chapbooks, songs, films, magazines, websites, exhibits, and other cultural phenomena that G.C. Waldrep, Brent Cunningham, Susana Gardner, Bill Berkson & many others are into September 16, 2011: Well, that headline about sums it up, eh? But if you haven't heard: Steve Evans has compiled (and is still compiling) another year's worth of contributions to his annual Attention Span project, which provides us with often-commented lists of inspiry, textual or otherwise, from some of our most interestin' poets (and readers of Third Factory). For [...] by Harriet Staff

Slate has something to say about the MFA Rankings business September 15, 2011: Do you know what would make this whole MFA Rankings discussion even better? Juggalos! No? Okay, how about this: Scott Kenemore, over at Slate, is weighing in with his two cents (and his ideas about writers "genitals"). He's a Columbia University graduate, and he has an axe to grind, mostly, on Columbia's dropping from #25 to #47. [...] by Harriet Staff

After the revolution: now what? September 15, 2011: Arab Spring--the recent waves of protest and revolt throughout the Arab world--may also mean a revolution for arabophone literature. Morrocan-born poet Ben Taher Jelloun talks with Spiegel Online about the problems and opportunities facing writers in transitioning countries: SPIEGEL ONLINE: Your recently published essay collection deals [...] by Harriet Staff

“I have to live this life. I have to be a poet.”: An Interview with Alex Dimitrov September 15, 2011: Alex Dimitrov took part in an interview with The L Magazine. He talks about his work,: For our readers who may not be familiar with your work, what’s the most accurate thing someone else has said about it? It’s great when people I don’t know write to me, over Facebook or Twitter or email, and say that they strongly respond to a [...] by Harriet Staff

$25,000 Rona Jaffe Award in poetry goes to Melanie Drane September 15, 2011: Wow! The Rona Jaffe Foundation is celebrating its 17th annual writers' awards. They're hefty, to the tune of $25,000 grants! And they go to women writers in early stages of their careers! Considering this important new study, this is good news for our pocketbooks. The 2011 award in poetry has just been announced: it will go to Durham, North [...] by Harriet Staff

Allen Ginsberg and Paul McCartney jam session in a film by Gus Van Sant September 15, 2011: It's here. Thanks, @ubuweb. by Harriet Staff