Ear Drums December 2, 2007: So (as Seamus Heaney might begin this). My husband and I actually went to a concert last night, which we have not done in an age. He had managed to swing tickets to a sold-out Alfred Brendel concert at the Megaron Mousikis, an evening of Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert and Mozart. But we almost didn’t go, because it meant leaving our toddler at [...] by A.E. Stallings

Why No One Wants to be a New Formalist November 29, 2007: Some of the lively discussion at Harriet has alerted me to the fact that people debate over who gets to be in the church of the Avant Garde—who gets to be among the Elect, who gets to be in the Canon Outside the Canon. It is clearly a privilege, a badge of honor. (Maybe humans can’t even join—maybe you have to be a machine!) The rules [...] by A.E. Stallings

Poetry and Prophecy November 26, 2007: Poetry and Prophecy For the ancients, the two were very much intertwined—prophecies were given in verse, and one word for poet in Latin is “vates”—prophet. Both poets and prophets were supposed to be enthused—en-god-ed—inspired by forces outside themselves. (Virgil’s works were even used in the Middle Ages for prophesy by the [...] by A.E. Stallings

No Contest November 22, 2007: I, as probably several of my fellow-bloggers here, published my first book as the result of a contest. In fact, the manuscript had been making the rounds for years, ever a finalist, never a bride. By the time it did win, and the $1000 check arrived, I had probably spent--who knows--twice? that on entry fees, copying, and postage. But what to [...] by A.E. Stallings

Similes and the Moving Van of Metaphor November 20, 2007: Here amongst the other New Athenians, "metaphores" (metaphors) is often seen emblazoned on a van. In modern Greek, it means "movers," and comes with burly men used to hoisting large pieces of furniture and boxes marked, in vain, "prosoche" (fragile) and "ano meros" ("this side up"). More than once I have almost been run down by the Moving Van [...] by A.E. Stallings

In Praise of Print Journals November 18, 2007: [Note: I wrote this a couple of days ago, but didn't actually manage to post it...] Well, I guess the Anti-Muses have had it out for me since Snark & Blurb, so I am down with either a monster of a cold or, maybe, actually the flu, and so have spent the day in bed with aspirin and tissues and thermometer close at hand. Luckily, though, yesterday [...] by A.E. Stallings

Snark & Blurb: A Dialogue November 13, 2007: Dramatis Personae: Snark, a thin, brittle, elegant demon, the shade of an autumn leaf, with dry, cicada-like wings, and a long sharp nose. Eyebrows perpetually arched in an expression of mock-surprise. His sneer shows off double rows of pin-like black teeth. Blurb, a plump goblin covered in iridescent scales, with a wide, trout-like mouth and a [...] by A.E. Stallings

Dipodic Verse November 8, 2007: What is it? Is it catching, is it common, is it rare? Is it something you have heard, and maybe uttered, unaware? Steve has broached a subject close to my heart—dipodic meter—and I thought it might deserve a little space of its own here on Harriet. What is it? In English scansion it refers to a meter than can be scanned according to two [...] by A.E. Stallings

Numbers Trouble November 3, 2007: I know very little about the status of women in innovative poetry (though I’d agree with Stevens that “all poetry is experimental poetry” I recognize that some poetry is more conscious of and focused on innovation than others), aside from, say, the vaguely condescending introduction to Marianne Moore by T.S. Eliot, or the crushing neglect [...] by A.E. Stallings

Happy Halloween, Happy Birthday, John Keats October 31, 2007: Keats owns autumn, as this post by Ange reminds us. Every Halloween I think also of Keats since this is his birthday. His last poem, which breaks off rather than ends, is appropriately "haunting": This living hand, now warm and capable Of earnest grasping, would, if it were cold And in the icy silence of the tomb, So haunt thy days and chill thy [...] by A.E. Stallings