Author: Brian

I thought I'd written about having a daughter named Brittany Spears before, and all the odd connections we have with the singer of the almost identical name and her family, but apparently not. I have, however, published a poem about it at the very least. Warning: this is going to ramble a bit. So, it's … Continue reading Are you related to…?

We did a lot of work on the Rumpus Poetry Book Club today, including nailing down an order of months for the advisory board. But the most movement we made today was on the Twitter front. The Rumpus Poetry Book Club has its own Twitter feed, and you should follow it. There's no telling who'll … Continue reading Twitter Updates

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQCwnoMMqtA&feature=player_embedded Via

Amy and I were getting our exercise in the park yesterday evening, and a band was set up on one of the football fields. It's part of a yearly program set up by one of the banks, and locals were out in force to see them--lawn chairs, coolers, umbrellas, portable gazebos. The ones we could … Continue reading Why not Classic Rap?

Isaac Fitzgerald, the awesome managing editor of The Rumpus, just posted this little blurb promoting our Supersized Combo with Neil de la Flor, and I want to return some love. About a year and a half ago, Stephen Elliott invited me to write a weekly column on poetry--a weekly linkfest, if you will--to be published … Continue reading The Rumpus Is a Place for Poets

Every year, Amy's sister and brother-in-law throw a huge 4th of July/family reunion/birthday-party-for-everyone-born-in-July party. It's a great time--they cater it, buy an ice cream cake, and Rob spends insane amounts of money on fireworks, which he and his brother and whatever kid is the biggest pain in the ass that day help light. We did … Continue reading A cynical July 4th to all, and to all…

Have you heard about The Rumpus Poetry Book Club? Just making sure. I've bookmarked this article on how to format poetry online, since I've had some problems along these lines in the past myself. This year, Wimbledon's official poet laureate, Matt Harvey, had the chance to write about the longest tennis match ever played. How … Continue reading Poetic Lives Online

or, even the greats revise. WASHINGTON — Preservation scientists at the Library of Congress have discovered that Thomas Jefferson, even in the act of declaring independence from England, had trouble breaking free from monarchial rule. In an early draft of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson wrote the word "subjects," when he referred to the American … Continue reading First word not always the best word

Siena polled 238 historians and compiled a list of best to worst Presidents in history, based on a pretty wide range of criteria. To no one's surprise, George W. Bush is low on the list--fifth from the bottom, as a matter of fact, ahead of only Franklin Pierce, Warren G. Harding, James Buchanan and Andrew … Continue reading The Need for Distance

So this has been in the works for the better part of a month now, but it's really come together in the last couple of days. The Rumpus is going to do a poetry version of its book club. I believe it was Matthew Zapruder's idea, but four of us will be sharing the responsibility: … Continue reading Announcing The Rumpus Poetry Book Club