Breakfast at Victor’s Cafeteria, burning cane overlooking a sugar mill, graffiti-stained walls of the abandoned Charles Boldt Paper Mill. Iconic imagery abounds for those who have the city of New Iberia in their hearts, and artists were able to use the mixture of scenic beauty and nostalgia to their benefit this weekend. Envision da Berry’s … Continue reading Pictures, poetry win inaugural Battle of Notebooks (via The Daily Iberian)
Taking chances can sometimes lead to great art. But award-winning poet Carl Phillips says there's a risk to, well, taking risks. "I think there has to be a place for risk and for restlessness in any kind of fully lived life, and especially I think for an artist," he tells NPR's Arun Rath. "I think … Continue reading For Carl Phillips, Poetry Is Experience Transformed — Not Transcribed (via NPR)
Massachusetts. Although it was the home of famed poet John Greenleaf Whittier, Amesbury has never had an official Poet Laureate, which is something that six-year Amesbury Cultural Council member David Andrews plans of rectifying very soon. “We are appointing Amesbury’s first Poet Laureate,” Andrews said. Also the Cultural Council’s treasurer and a published writer himself, … Continue reading Amesbury is looking for a homegrown poet (via Newbury Port News)
Cynthia Macdonald, whose idiosyncratic blend of humor and the grotesque made her a distinctive voice on the American poetry scene, died on Aug. 3 in a nursing home in Logan, Utah. She was 87. The cause was heart failure, her daughter, Jennifer Macdonald, said. Ms. Macdonald’s first volume of poetry, “Amputations,” published in 1972, introduced … Continue reading Cynthia Macdonald, Poet Known for Humor and Ability to Shock, Dies at 87 (via NY Times)
Poetry is arguably like punk rock. It's an underground art form committed to raw emotion, placing emphasis on self-expression. It's a conduit for social and personal angst, and has little regard for the status quo. Poetry is nearly invisible in pop culture and local events, but the rhymesayers of the Orange County Poetry Club are … Continue reading Orange County Poetry Club Brings Spoken Word to Santa Ana (via OC Weekly)
New Hampshire will soon have its own poetry festival. The inaugural New Hampshire Poetry Festival takes place Sept. 19 at the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester. It will feature Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Charles Simic — a former US poet laureate. Two leading literary organizations — the Poetry Society of New Hampshire and the … Continue reading New Hampshire to hold first state poetry festival Sept. 19 (via Boston Globe)
Full Title: "With Win Last Weekend, Boston Poetry Slam Team Sweeps All Three National Titles (via The ARTery)" In the world of slam poetry—a competitive version of spoken verse—there are three top national prizes: individual champion, Women of the World champ (for poets who live their lives as women) and the National Poetry Slam team … Continue reading Boston Poetry Slam Team Sweeps All Three National Titles (via The ARTery)
Full Title: Drama meets poetry in ‘Old School,’ which returns to Kansas City at Just Off Broadway Theatre (via Kansas City Star) “Old School,” the play by Harvey Williams that established KC MeltingPot Theatre as an incubator for emerging playwrights and a platform for minority actors to reach wider audiences, is back. And with it … Continue reading Drama meets poetry in ‘Old School’ (via Kansas City Star)
Jamaica. Facilitated by Sandals Whitehouse European Village and Spa. Twenty-eight youngsters from Westmoreland and St Elizabeth recently participated in the first-ever Poetry and Presentation Summer Camp facilitated by Sandals Whitehouse European Village and Spa. The camp, driven by the slogan 'play with your words: Create your poetic masterpiece', ran from July 27 to August 2 at the … Continue reading Sandals Whitehouse’s Poetry and Presentation Summer Camp ends on a high (via Jamaica Observer)
The waxing lyrical from Manawatu poet Professor Bryan Walpert has seen him become one of only two New Zealanders to be selected for the long list of the prestigious Montreal International Poetry Prize. Walpert is a lecturer in the School of Media Studies at the Palmerston North campus and joins fellow Massey University creative writing … Continue reading Kiwi poets on long list for Montreal International Poetry Prize (via Manawatu Standard)
