Poetry in The News

As I was bemoaning the very lackluster way in which the major hometown newspaper presents coverage of the literary arts an then, I see this:

The Edmonton Journal commissioned several well-known local poets to write poems just for the newspaper. Each month for the next several months, the paper is publishing one of the poems illustrated by a Journal photographer and provide a biographical sketch of the poet. I am truly impressed by this. The first installment can be seen here with poet Diane Buchanan

As to our local paper, my complaint is not with the book editor, who in fact is respectable in his work, but the way the paper integrates the literary material within the paper itself a well as the amount of space dedicated to it. I'm speaking of the Kansas City Star.

Yes, the star features a weakly poem from someone local. There is never any real biographical material on the author. Just so and so lives in (insert general part of the metro area). The space provided for literary arts is quite limited (as I realize it is with most big daily papers) but sometimes we have a literary calendar and sometimes we don't. The new format of the paper is not user friendly though I admit that I very much like the feel of the newspaper stock they are using now. That is a big improvement.

High Five!!! for The Vermont Humanities Council and the Vermont Women's Fund. Together they provided for nine two-hour sessions by for novelist and Vermont Humanities Council Scholar Deborah Lee Luskin to come to the Southeast State Correctional Facility in Vermont, to encourage the creative impulse of women behind bars. (story here)

Poem in Arkansas Junior High class incites parental complaints (here) for use of "f" word.

The virtues of memorized poetry are extolled by Alice Quinn, who talks about her new book, Edgar Allan Poe and the Juke-Box. (here) I am especially interested in reading this book. It has been somewhat controversial among some who believe it is a disservice to the work of Elizabeth Bishop because it contains some of her drafts that have not been published. Honestly, that is precisely why I want to see it.

Tags: Writing and poetry parental Elizabeth Bishop Deborah Lee Luskin Vermont Humanities Council Alice Quinn Kansas City Star Edmonton Journal Diane Buchanan

In the mail....

Yesterday, the mailman brought cheer with the latest Poets & Writers.

Articles that look especially interesting:

1. Poetry - Built to Last
2. Five Debut Authors
3. After The Flood - A Writer Says Goodbye to Her books
4. The Writer's Web Site - Build It and They Will Come

There are a host of other yummy looking tid-bits between the pages. Those who may not be familiar with P & W should be aware that it also has great resources for:

• grants and awards
• contests
• conferences & residencies
• calls for manuscripts

Off the subject of poetry & writing for a moment but another subject that has peeked my interest of late, the arrogance of AT&T.

Thursday USA today reported that AT&T was adopting a new privacy policy that requires internet customers to consent to its ownership of their account information and authorizes it to tract consumer usage.

This policy change comes as AT&T is named as a defendant in a federal lawsuit filed by the non-profit Electronic Frontier Foundation that accuses AT& T with improperly sharing customers' private phone and internet records with the federal government without any court orders or oversight.

What the new language is saying to AT&T customers is this, "While your account information may be personal to you, these records constitute business records that are owned by AT&T. As Such, AT&T may disclose such records to protect its legitimate business interests..."

The USA Today article also states that the new policy drops a reference stating that company "does not access, read, upload, or store data contained in or delivered from private files without the member's authorization."

The EDT lawsuit accuses AT&T with providing the federal government with access to customer records on virtually all phone based communications since 2001.

I WOULD RECOMMEND PEOPLE CONSIDER BOYCOTTING ALL AT&T SERVICES - PHONE AND INTERNET. THEY OBVIOUSLY HAVE NOTHING BUT CONTEMPT FOR THE PRIVACY RIGHTS OF THEIR CUSTOMERS.

Tags: Writing and poetry flood Katrina books AT&T Boycott Civil Liberties

You Read Your Favorite Blogs and....

DRINK YOUR MORNING COFFEE IN WHAT?


Ok, there is still a week to save $2 on a Stick Poet Superhero Coffee Mug

HERE!

The Korea Times : Boon to Modern Korean Poetry

The Korea Times : Boon to Modern Korean Poetry: "Despite Korea's 3000-year-history of poetry, it is not sufficiently known outside Korea, poetry is a mark of civilization. It shows to what extent humanity has illuminated the darkness, to bring more light into human existence." - Ko Chang-soo

Real Imagination

Where exactly is the line between reality and imagination severed? I, from time to time think about this and of course have no concrete answer that I can uphold with fact. If that sounds a tad bit circular, that's because it is. Another, "Which came first..." sort of thing. In fact, just like the great Chicken and Egg debate, many would likely say of the reality and imagination question, "So What!"

The problem is, if you think this comes down to, one is real and the other isn't, then clearly you will think this is just a dog chasing his own tail. If this were "real vs. not real" then I likely would not even be blogging on the subject today.

Imagination is a product of the mind and the mind is real, therefore I see no reason to discount the imaginative powers that be. Such bold thoughts have put a man on the moon and may one day cure cancer, HIV, diabetes and a whole host of things we haven't even discovered yet.

Walk into a gallery and see a painting of a farm scene with great detail and you can easily say, wow that artist is good, that looks almost real. Further along the wall is an abstract piece of art on a canvass medium. On first glance you see nothing distinguishable in it. So, you convince yourself that the first one is closer to reality, and the latter one is not. However, both paintings were a product of the artist's creative thought process and it seems to me that being said, they both must be reality.

Sometimes I will write a poem and someone I know will ask, when did that happen to you? I have to chuckle because in many instances, it happened to me in my head over a period of time and several rewrites. It becomes difficult at times to assure someone that a particular poem is not a historical account of something that happened to me. And, sometimes it is. Then of course, I have written things that people will tell me seem not at all reality based and that that I should write straight more forward poems that are clear in meaning. If I conjured it up I my head, is it not real?

I think reality and fact must be separated. They are not one in the same. Especially where art is concerned. That is where the whole issue of reality and imagination get tangled up. Reality and fact are often interchanged, then we want to test imagination against a (factual) standard. This is how art in all forms, including poetry often get discounted in terms of importance. Factual, perhaps not, reality, always!


Tags: Writing and poetry Arts Creativity Mind

Anniversary / Reading List / World Cup / Journaling

I know my wife will on occasion read my blog, so let me start my post for the day wishing Cathy a Happy Anniversary! Thirty-two years today. Can you believe that? Thirty-two years with an anal retentive poet. ::grin:: Ok, I have not been a poet all that time.

Well, I've put together my reading list for the summer. It consists of the following:

1. Wooroloo by Frieda Hughes
2. Swarm by Jorie Graham
3. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
4. Her Husband: Hugh and Plath - a Marriage by Diane Middlebrook

I must digress for a moment to the subject of World Cup Soccer. I mentioned the other day that I am by no means a soccer fan and I'll make no apology for that. I find it perhaps the most boring sport or athletic event on the face of the earth. Now let me underscore just one more perplexing aspect of the World Cup frenzy. The USA is looking to advance into round two. They have played two games. Lost one and tied another. One loss and a tie, and get this... they have yet to score a goal. Yes, even their tie game came because the opposition kicked the ball by accident into their own goal. Hence, the U.S. ties not because it scored, but because it didn't manage to kick one in it's own goal.

Finished another journal last night.... Started it on April 1st so I filled it in less than three months. Ready for the next volume today.

Tags: Poetry Reading List World Cup Journaling

The Corner on National Review Online

The Corner on National Review Online


NBC's Progressive Poetry Moment [Tim Graham]
MRC’s Geoff Dickens discovered that NBC’s Today brought on “deadline poet” Calvin Trillin and giggled over his “hilarious” book of Bush-bashing verse titled A Heckuva Job.