Michael Allyn Wells

Thursday, November 19, 2009

I like it when good things happen to poets who deserve it!

Congratulations Ivy Alvarez on your Pushcart Nomination! Way to go!

Technorati Tags: Puschcart Nomination,Ivy Alvarez

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

The Final Poem - by Andree Chedid

I selected a poem by Andree Chedid that I like to feature here today - click on the link The Final Poem

Flarf Collective goes public

This captured my attention today...

Just last week, the Flarf Collective made its long-exclusive listserv public, welcoming poets who use material from people's Facebook status, search histories and chat room discourse, techniques that have also become known as flarf. [Story here]

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Retreat of sorts

Dog sitting for my son this weekend. It’s become a mini writing retreat of sorts. I’ve stayed off TV – so I’ve not had that distraction. Also worked on some “office work” and in-between took our sick car to the shop for which the issue remains unresolved.

In terms of writing, I’ve done some on my laptop and some in my journal. It helped to brake up things to give my eyes a change of focus. By late last night my eyes were pretty fuzzy and my head spinning. I did ultimately unwind listening to some music from Yusef Islam a.k.a. Cat Stevens. Some of his music is especially comforting like the denim jeans he sings of in Oh Very Young.

One of the neat things about writing this weekend is that I started with an epigraph from Anne Sexton and was able to write for a while and hit a wall. I stopped for a while and read some of her work just to get my mind to move beyond where I was. Later I was able to go back and successfully write more. Not from the original draft but with a new slant from the epigraph. Again I hit a wall, but I have parts of the two different drafts that have portions that show promise and will at some point I am confident prove useful. Then later this morning – another whole draft – this one the process has reached conclusion. It’s very workable and I already know some changes I will make; tighten it up and work on line breaks and toy with the stanzas trying to get the best flow from it and improve it lyrically. This one has a broadly political / philosophical tone and these are so hard to do without preaching. This will not be preachy.

That is my roundup for the weekend. I’m going to stop now and write a bit longer and head to bed. Morning comes soon.

Technorati Tags: writing weekend

Saturday, November 14, 2009

A Little Saturday Mischief

A Few Poetry Workshops You May Have Missed

Feline Elegies - or nine chances to get it right.
Potato Poetry - Mashed, fried, baked and other poetic devices.
Would you, could you with Hamlet? Exploring similarities of Seuss and Shakespeare.

Technorati Tags: poetry workshops you may have missed

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Wright Markets Poetry For the Consumer Mind

Wright Markets Poetry For the Consumer Mind

Award-winning poet CD Wright visits Columbia to deliver a lecture on the place of poetry in the public discourse.

By Laura Oseland

Published Tuesday 10 November 2009 07:13pm EST.

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How does poetry keep on keeping on?

This is what award-winning poet CD Wright will discuss for the Creative Writing Lecture Series at the School of the Arts on Thursday. Her lecture, “Concerning Why Poetry Offers a Better Deal than the World’s Biggest Retailer,” explores the position of poetry within the public discourse, as an artistic force in the commercial and social environment in which we now live.