On a recent Friday night, Tyler Knott Gregson, a blond, tattooed poet from Montana, took the stage at a Manhattan bookstore and beamed at the crowd that had come to celebrate his new haiku collection. “This is rad. I appreciate it,” he said, taking in the roughly 150 people who had crowded into Barnes & … Continue reading Web Poets’ Society: New Breed Succeeds in Taking Verse Viral (via NY Times)
Full title: "Only connect – poetry's hidden power to break down barriers (via The Guardian)" Poetry connects. Wherever I’ve worked, I’ve seen poems making bonds between people and disciplines. At a conference between the Poetry Society and English Place-Name Society, everyone got on like a house on fire, discovering their shared faith in the importance … Continue reading Poetry’s hidden power to break down barriers (via The Guardian)
Today, 11.5.15... Olivia Gatwood was a youth poet competing in an HBO series competition called "Brave New Voices." Megan Falley was a college student who posted her own spoken word videos on YouTube. Although the two had only watched each other on screens, they soon would coincidentally meet on the streets of New York City. … Continue reading Feminist spoken word show “Speak Like A Girl” to come to Rutgers (via Daily Targum)
Full Title: Comet bus passengers get a ride – and a poetry reading – in Columbia (via The State) Passengers on The Comet’s 101 North Main route found themselves in the middle of an unexpected performance Sunday, as local poets read their work aloud throughout the ride. This poetry reading marked Ed Madden’s first public … Continue reading Columbia bus passengers get a ride and a poetry reading (via The State)
Today, Amazon Publishing announced a call for submissions for the Little A Poetry Contest, dedicated to the discovery of emerging poets. The contest will be judged by the acclaimed poets Cornelius Eady, Jericho Brown and Kimiko Hahn. The winner will receive $5,000 in prize money and a publishing contract featuring a $2,000 advance with Little … Continue reading Amazon Publishing Announces the Little A Poetry Contest for Emerging Poets (via Business Wire)
The event didn’t generate the buzz of “Hamilton” on Broadway. It didn’t even provoke the excitement that some future high school production of the musical might. Come to think of it, of all the offerings in cutthroat cultural New York City last Tuesday night, Judges Reading Poetry would probably have ranked near the bottom. The … Continue reading Doing Justice to Some Good Poetry (via WSJ)
Watch the poem here! Poet Elizabeth Acevedo is writing to understand. That process began at a young age, growing up in a Dominican family of oral storytellers, she said. It flourished with her high school poetry club, with whom she would attend open mics around the city, watching poets perform at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, … Continue reading Spoken word poet Elizabeth Acevedo issues a challenge to rape culture (via PBS)
Ka’Lee Strawbridge-Moten stood in front of the crowd at the Writers Organizing to Represent Diverse Stories slam poetry competition and asked the audience “what you got?” and they responded with “words.” Strawbridge-Moten (sophomore-security risk analysis) was the first of eight poets to perform on Monday night as the creative writing group welcomed writers to compete … Continue reading Penn State’s ‘Writers Organizing to Represent Diverse Stories’ holds slam poetry competition (via Daily Collegian)
Congrats, Emi! The stage was set for Emtithal “Emi” Mahmoud ’16 at the Individual World Poetry Slam Championship (iWPS). Entering the final round of the competition, she had drawn the last slot for the last bout. Despite the high-pressure situation, she performed a piece she had finished only hours before. And she won. “I was … Continue reading Yale senior wins the Individual World Poetry Slam Championship (via Yale News)
It’s a rare poet who can write movingly about African migration to Europe and also tweet humorously about the VH1 reality show “Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta.” Every generation of writers and readers has mourned the shrinking place of poetry in our lives, and they may not be wrong. They also may not be looking in … Continue reading The Writing Life of a Young, Prolific Poet (via The New Yorker)
