A little redesign, a little movement, a little redirecting of the blog to where it now comes up on my own domain name, which was going largely unused and sitting dormant, and here we are. Note to blogger--if you can get it so we can publish via ftp using the new xml layouts, that would … Continue reading Well that was fun
The Poem of a Life
Back in March, I mentioned that I was reading Mark Scroggins's new biography of Louis Zukofsky, The Poem of a Life. Mark and his family came over to our home for a dinner party a couple of months ago and he saw that I'd only gotten a couple hundred pages in. He said "that's a … Continue reading The Poem of a Life
Some advice
Robert Lee Brewer asked around on Facebook for some advice on writing a bio for a poetry submission. I responded, and he included my comments here if you're interested. My standard opening joke is included in there.
I guess I can see that
A couple of days ago at Sadly, No, Mister Leonard Pierce looked at some responses to the National Review Onine's symposium on books. To the question "If there were only one book on conservatism you could recommend to a newcomer, what would it be and why?" Richard Brookheiser answered "The Complete Poetry of Robert Frost. … Continue reading I guess I can see that
On "The Politics of Poetry"
In the July/August edition of Poetry, there's an essay by David Orr titled "The Politics of Poetry" that I want to comment on a little. The subject as a whole has been on my mind a lot lately--I wrote about it some on my other blog in response to Stanley Fish's comments on his NY … Continue reading On "The Politics of Poetry"
To a Young Feminist Who Wants to Be Free
Betty Adcock's poem may be a teenager now, but it certainly hasn't lost any of its political relevance. If anything, it's more relevant now than ever, given the recent Democratic party primary, and the friction that was given center stage in what some political bloggers called "the oppression Olympics." With the word feminist in the … Continue reading To a Young Feminist Who Wants to Be Free
It’s not less travelled
Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" is probably one of the best known poems of the 20th century, but for entirely the wrong reason. I teach it nearly every semester in my Interpretation of Poetry classes, not so much because I enjoy it, but because I'm tired of hearing people invoke the final three lines … Continue reading It’s not less travelled
Saturday Monkey Blogging
I've been away for quite a while--I suspect that the people who keep popping by for my limited readings of "The Forge" haven't missed me any. I'll get back to the poetry blogging soon, but last night, my daughter graduated from high school. Amy and I call her Monkey, and there are some pictures below … Continue reading Saturday Monkey Blogging
Publishing news
Got word late last night that Relief A Christian Quarterly Expression has accepted a (very) long poem of mine for publication. I don't have all the details yet, but if they took it all, then wow, because it's ten sections long, practically a chapbook. It would be my most substantial publication to date, at least … Continue reading Publishing news
What does it take to kill a writer?
That's a post over at The Electronic Girl talking about how, in fiction at least, there's a sense that it's easy to lose writers of great books to the memory of their movies. She uses as her primary example James Leo Herlihy, best known as the author of Midnight Cowboy. But he's unknown, you say? … Continue reading What does it take to kill a writer?
Another Poem to Love 