The late John Prine has been named the first honorary poet laureate of the state of Illinois, Governor J.B. Pritzker announced Tuesday, nearly three months after the singer-songwriter’s death from complications related to COVID-19. “He leaves behind an unparalleled musical legacy and was beloved by family and millions of fans who hope that in Heaven … Continue reading John Prine Named Illinois’ First Honorary Poet Laureate (via Rolling Stone)
The Poetry Foundation announced on Wednesday that its president and board chairman are resigning, several days after an open letter signed by more than 1,800 poets and others criticized the foundation’s recent statement on the Black Lives Matter movement and called for them to be replaced. The president, Henry Bienen, a former president of Northwestern … Continue reading Poetry Foundation Leadership Resigns After Black Lives Matter Statement (via NY Times)
As the coronavirus spread in March, poet Ada Limon struggled at first to write, feeling “flattened and silenced” by a pandemic that had shut down much of the world she knew. “I could call nothing to me. I’d think of a sound, a word, a subject and it was all failing,” she told The Associated … Continue reading New Anthology Collects Dozens of Poems About Pandemic (via NY Times)
Jericho Brown, Emory’s Winship Distinguished Research Professor in Creative Writing, has won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his latest collection, “The Tradition.” The 2020 Pulitzer Prizes were announced via video May 4. The prize for poetry is given annually to a “distinguished volume of original verse by an American author.” In selecting Brown’s book … Continue reading Emory professor Jericho Brown wins Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (via Atlanta INTown)
Social justice is often fought for through art, and one poet, educator, and activist has written her own way towards advocating for the truth. Mahogany Browne performed poetry at the Huxley Theatre in the New York State Museum on Thursday, and spoke with attendees about what her role as a poet, writer, activist, and educator … Continue reading Poetry with purpose: Mahogany Browne educates with activism (via The Chronicle)
Full Title: "INTERVIEW: Imelda May on poetry and equality ahead of all-female 'Imagining Ireland' cultural event" THIS MONTH will see Irish singer, songwriter and poet Imelda May take to the stage at London's Barbican Hall as part of a one-night only, all-female line-up event showcasing some of the best talent Ireland has to offer. But … Continue reading Imelda May on poetry and equality (via The Irish Post)
When Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats appeared in the first week of October 1939, it might have been thought that its author had lost the plot. It was only 17 years since TS Eliot had published The Waste Land, his cryptic lament for the moral and psychic disintegration that both caused and followed the first world war. Now, a … Continue reading The nine lives of Cats: how poetry became a musical, then a film (via Guardian)
Rupi Kaur has published two books: 2015’s Milk and Honey, 2017’s The Sun and Her Flowers. Her epigrammatic verse is spare, the offspring of classical aphorism (if you’re feeling generous) and the language of self-help. The poems have a confessional, earnest manner; disarmingly full of feeling, they can be easy to dismiss. Nevertheless, Rupi Kaur, a Canadian … Continue reading Rupi Kaur Is the Writer of the Decade (via The New Republic)
If Olivia Gatwood had never found poetry, she would probably be dead by now. She said this nonchalantly backstage before a performance at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg for several hundred fans. A few minutes later, she was slathering lavender oil on her tattooed arms. “I don’t like perfume,” she said. “It makes me feel … Continue reading Olivia Gatwood, a Poet With a YouTube Following, Branches Out (via NY Times)
This list of horror poetry collections is sponsored by Forge Books. Four women. Four secrets. A weekend that will change them forever…if they survive. Each woman has come to the retreat for different reasons. Each has her secrets to hide. And at the end of this weekend only one will be left standing. Sherri Smith illuminates … Continue reading 10 Creepy, Captivating Horror Poetry Collections (via Book Riot)
