Author: thepoetslist

On an unabashedly glorious afternoon this week, the poet and essayist Phillip Lopate stood in front of a small group of graduate students in Columbia University’s creative writing program. He took attendance, noting a few absences, before turning to a discussion about the German filmmaker Harun Farocki. But first he singled out a student sitting … Continue reading Gregory Pardlo, Pulitzer Winner for Poetry, on His Sudden Fame (via NYTimes) →

April is National Poetry Month and National Poetry Writing Month, sparking poetry readings, new poetry books, challenges to write thirty poems in thirty days, people carrying poems in their pockets to share, and, of course, a multitude of poetry writing assignments in schools across the country. NBC Asian America—with the help of a poetry professor … Continue reading National Poetry Month: Asian-American Poets to Watch (via NBC News) →

"That's what I would hope for: that we recognize just how big we are and that we're willing to frolic inside that clarity." -- Dominique Christina Preach, girl! Dominique Christina will be releasing her book, "This Is Woman's Work" this October! Check it out. Video interview below! This Is Woman’s Work: Calling forth your inner … Continue reading Dominique Christina Discusses Her Forthcoming Book (via Sounds True) →

No poem in the preceding decade captured the spirit of the times more than Frederick Seidel’s “December.” The product of a Faustian pact, it fixed itself in a fiendish dialectic, a self-canceling logic that likewise trapped the reader like a dying fly — in the politics of the War on Terror, in the axiomatic hell of the Bush … Continue reading The 50 Best American Poetry Books of the Decade so Far (via Flavorwire) →

Before her death last spring at the age of 86, author and poet Maya Angelou was working on a new project -- one that puts her words to music. An album was recently released, giving listeners a taste of an unusual collaboration that crosses generations. In a music video called "Harlem Hopscotch," inspired by a … Continue reading Maya Angelou gets a hip-hop remix (via CBS News) →