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Tuesday, October 24, 2006

If this sounds Confusing...

One headline: Staying the course no more - Bush changes policy in wake of pressure as election nears (source) and another, WHITE HOUSE WON'T SHIFT IRAQ STRATEGY- Bush Officials: No Plan for Big Iraq Strategy Shift or Ultimatum to Iraqi Leaders (source). If this sounds confusing to you, then you are not alone. This is a president that has lying and deception down to an art. And my question to you is why, in the weeks before the mid-term elections should we believe ANYTHING that this man or those representing him say?

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Monday, October 23, 2006

Got this from Quotidian Light


HowManyOfMe.com
LogoThere are:
2,892
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

The Poetry Exercise's Logical Conclusion: New Book of Poems Consists of Exercises for Readers to Write Poems - PR.com

The Poetry Exercise's Logical Conclusion: New Book of Poems Consists of Exercises for Readers to Write Poems - PR.com

Blue lion books believes that an idea, if expressed, should be expressed in its fullest manner. one of our newest books is Catherine Daly’s third book of poetry, To Delite and Instruct, a 276-page romp through the idea of poetry-writing exercises.


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Friday, October 20, 2006

Thoughts on Bly's Archives

Robert Bly is an acclaimed American poet. He is also still very much alive. When we from time to time learn the Nachlass of some poet or writer has come into the hands of a public institution and that always seems to elicit some degree of enthusiasm. Perhaps it is the fact that the The University of Minnesota Libraries have acquired the archives of such a noteworthy living poet that I find his news all the more intriguing.

The reported cost of this acquisition was $775,000, came from private gifts as well as university support. For this sum they will get more than 80,000 pages of handwritten manuscripts, Bly's journal spanning nearly 50 years, notebooks of Bly's "morning poems" As well as countless drafts of translations, and his extensive correspondence with writers James Wright, Donald Hall, James Dickey along with other items.

To me, it is fitting that these literary documents remain at an institution in his home state. But I am especially pleased to see that the plans include having the material digitized and made available for research and study by the university community but also a global audience who by online access. At 79, no one knows how much more material Bly is likely to produce but the acquisition agreement also provide extended opportunity to acquire all of Bly's future creative output.

If I sound excited by all this, it's because I am. For whatever reason I have found it hard to pass over opportunities to look into the goodies of various literary estates. In this case I would be especially interested in Bly's correspondence with James Wright and Donald Hall. I have already seen some of the Wright correspondence that was published in his collection of letters done not too long ago. I read the Plath's journals, Sexton's letters, and now I am reading Journals and early poems of Allen Ginsberg. I guess I am a sucker for this stuff.

I really don't think you can discount the value that knowing more about a poet and his or her life can add to the critical understanding of their work.

Speaking of Ginsberg, if you consider that Stanford University paid $1 million 12 years ago for the Ginsberg archives, the Bly deal almost seems like a steal.

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Thursday, October 19, 2006

Vancouver wants own poet laureate

Vancouver wants own poet laureate like several other Canadian cities (Toronto, Montreal, Victoria and Saskatoon) . This seems to be a growing trend among municipalities. Even in the U.S.

Rogue Exposure

I'm very pleased with the initial traffic on Rogue Poetry Review. On the day the first issue went up (Tuesday) 324 hits. Yesterday another 211 hits for a total of 535 in the first two days. I have no complaints whatsoever about the exposure it has gotten.

A few thank you notes are in order here. The following have posted links. If I am missing anyone, and I probably am, please let me know.