Ars Poetica is a new blog with an interesting idea: an anthology (at first virtual, eventually print) of poems about poetry. Forget submitting — it’s network-invitation only. But if you adore this genre of poetry, what a delicious, long read you have ahead of you. Some of the poems I sampled and liked are by Denise Duhamel, Marilyn Taylor, Robert Sward, and the blog’s creator, Dan Waber. His short poem targets why I like poems…
Interesting article by Sven Birkerts on whether or not literary blogging is really a new-new thing, or just a marketing venue for the old-old thing — literature in print. He makes a case for the fact that the new literary paradigm, a wholly Web-based form of literature, has yet to take hold. Are litblogs simply grazing behind the dinosaurs, heading only down their paths and thus a mere camp follower of a doomed print culture?…
American Luminous— after “California Spring” by Alfred Bierstadt The canvas is so large I have to walk four stepsto the right to see the whole valley and to get outfrom under the towering cloud. Lit by a sun-flareit still drips mist onto the green hills.In the museum’s dim light I might bumpinto the foreground cow as I watch rovingsun-spotlights cross the hills in the storm’s wake.This land wants to encompass, wants to openits earthquakes in…
My thoughts on reading Emerson: his lectures and essays are more poetic than his poems. In prose he flows, but in his poems, he hews to a formal standard that makes his writing stiff, even self-conscious, while he’s relaxed and exuberantly expressive in the essays. Too bad free verse didn’t come along earlier so Emerson could use that expressive vehicle. And no wonder he admired the daring breakout of Whitman’s poetry! “Commodity” is the essay…
I just joined Facebook. I have no idea why. Someone invited me. I’m a sucker for new trends, hate to be left behind. But no, I didn’t line up to get my iPhone. I figure, let them work out the bugs and then I’ll pony up the $500 + $1200 a year to be able to surf the Net with my thumbs while waiting in the doctor’s office or in line at the grocery store.…
You can argue Fonteyn & Nureyev (and their Romeo & Juliet was something to see), or Nijinsky & Karsavina, or Gene Kelly and Jerry the Mouse, but for my money, it was and always will be Astaire & Rogers, as this tribute demonstrates. Visit https://racheldacus.net for more information and writing by Rachel Dacus.
Today I was trying to remember the name of a book I usually refer to as “The White Camel Travel Book.” It’s a delicious novel disguised as a travel memoir of the old English Empire style. It’s actually called The Towers of Trebizond (only took me three Google pages to recapture the title). That exercise made me think of all the wonderful books my friend Beverly introduced me to. They include I Capture the Castle,…
For anyone who has ever agonized over a book dedication — either in the reading or writing of it, read this article. I now plan never to dedicate a book again. I had no idea how many people might be offended by being left out. And if that didn’t give you a case of literary anxiety, consider the craft of writing your literary bio, as this helpful website has. I didn’t even know you could…
It seems to me that the problem with all types of poetry publishing is how to get a book distributed nationally. I hear all the time that most small press-published poetry books do not get picked up by the major U.S. book distributor. And then there’s promotion of poetry books. Show of hands: how many authors feel their publisher has sufficiently promoted their book? Or do you feel you had to do too much work…
I’ve had several discussions this week with those who decry the constant struggle of small independent presses to keep independent literature alive, despite the machinery of academic with its relentless careerism and New York publishing with its tunnel-vision on profit-margins. The debate about poetry reading fees goes on and on. Does charging a fee make you a vanity press? Is it ethical? I think anything that sustains a legitimate press is ethical. That doesn’t mean…