When we think of book parties, we tend to think of chic, Manhattan affairs. Norman Mailer—or rather his ghost—is there. At any moment Michiko Kakutani just might walk through the door. The book is published by Random House. But indies deserve a spotlight too. And the trick is getting your party right. First, let me … Continue reading Why your self-published book needs a book party (via Blurb)
This Poetry Pairing features Rita Dove’s poem “November for Beginners” and the article “Heavy Autumn Snowstorm Barrels Across Northeast” by Al Baker, Elizabeth A. Harris and Sarah Maslin Nir. A new Poetry Pairing appears on the first Thursday of each month. To view all the Poetry Pairings we’ve published in collaboration with the Poetry Foundation … Continue reading Poetry Pairing: ‘November for Beginners’ (via NYTimes)
Ever since she was a young girl, Merna Ann Hecht has been a poet. She recalls filling her third-grade journal with verses she often recited with her grandfather — her main source of poetic inspiration. “I was transfixed by him when I was a kid,” she said. “He had a really profound influence on me.” … Continue reading King County wants you to have ‘a poetic experience’ on the bus (via Seattle Times)
Verbal Blend, a spoken-word poetry program out of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, will premiere Poetry for the People Scholar Series Thursday, Nov. 6, at 8 p.m. in 304ABC Schine Student Center, featuring Gloria Velásquez. Velásquez will discuss and perform poems from “I Used to be a Superwoman.” Velásquez is an internationally acclaimed author who holds … Continue reading Verbal Blend to Premiere Poetry for the People Scholar Series (via SyracuseUniv)
Poet Bridgette Bates will present a poetry reading at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Center for Multicultural Education. Bates will read from her collection that debuts in November, "What is Not Missing is Light," that takes readers through a museum to observe fragments of statues that represent historical and cultural decay and perseverance. Bates graduated … Continue reading Poetry reading planned in C.F. on Wednesday (via WCF Courier)
Full title: Inauguration Poet In St. Louis To Talk About Growing Up, Home and Poetry Poet Richard Blanco is best known for “One Today,” the poem he wrote and read at President Barack Obama’s second inauguration in 2013. Blanco was the first Latino, first immigrant and first openly gay writer to be commissioned as an … Continue reading Inauguration Poet In St. Louis To Talk About Growing Up (via St. Louis Public Radio)
Full Title: Stars from heyday of D.C.'s poetry slam scene gather for spoken word reunion. Silvana Straw marched onto the stage with a megaphone, calling out gentrifiers. Jeffrey McDaniel recalled the advantage of being white during a tense encounter with a D.C. police officer. Joel Dias-Porter (a.k.a. DJ Renegade) told of teaching in a local … Continue reading Stars from heyday of D.C.’s poetry slam scene gather (via WashPo)
Under the glare of lights in a room typically kept dark for performances, David Worthington took the microphone and gave voice to a man who hadn't been heard that evening — not in person, anyway, in this theater half a world removed from his home in Iran: I hear the 15th bone snap … a … Continue reading Poetry calls out from the screen at Silent River Film Fest (via L.A. Times)
Galway Kinnell, who was recognized with both a Pulitzer Prize and an American Book Award for a body of poetry that pushed deep into the heart of human experience in the decades after World War II, died on Tuesday at his home in Sheffield, Vt. He was 87. The cause was leukemia, his wife, Barbara … Continue reading Galway Kinnell, Poet Who Followed His Own Path, Dies at 87 (via NY Times)
Truth and lies. Killing and survival. Sex, war, and rock and roll. This weekend, thousands of people will be going on a three-day poetry bender. "In America, a lot of people have an idea of poetry that was shaped by their experience being taught it -- an idea that it's difficult, challenging, and they have … Continue reading Poetry takes center stage at Dodge festival in Newark, NJ (via NewsWorks)
