Ah, the never-ending pursuit of book publication. I sent the latest version of Everyday Te Deum to a contest yesterday, and the waiting game continues. There has to be a better way to do this than the current contest system.
Why do we read this poem?
For the last couple of weeks, I've been going through poems in dialogue with my 2nd year students--the post I did on Sir Robert Aytoun's version of "To His Coy Mistress" came out of that. Funny side note--one of my students for that class came across that post while googling for some information on that … Continue reading Why do we read this poem?
New poem
A week or so ago, I mentioned that I was working on one of the poem prompts that Robert Lee Brewer had set up on Poetic Asides, and that I might post it when I was done with it. Well, I can't say I think it's one of my best, but I'm as done with … Continue reading New poem
Happy Birthday, Christopher Smart
According to this, Christopher Smart was born on this day back in 1722. He's best known for his poem "Jubilate Agno," which is one crazy bit of poetry. The piece of it that's most often anthologized is often called "My Cat Jeoffrey," in which Smart finds God in everything Jeoffrey does.When I was working on … Continue reading Happy Birthday, Christopher Smart
Winter Bean
I took this while in Chicago over a year ago. That's what happens when you stick with film and are lose track of the film canister. I've got to make the move to digital.
Challenge Poem
So when I mentioned the April Poetry Challenge, I said I might post some of what comes out of that. Why not?Here's the second poem I wrote for the challenge--not the second challenge, mind you, but the second one I wrote. I'm not real sure how I feel about it yet, but here it is. … Continue reading Challenge Poem
Brain Surgery
When I go looking for stories about the writing process, I don't generally hit up the New York Times, but there's a piece today by Rosanne Cash that I found fascinating. There are, of course, major differences between writing poetry and writing songs--the music is an integral part of the effect of the lyrics, and … Continue reading Brain Surgery
Old Creepy Poetry
Not long ago, I discovered a poem by Sir Robert Aytoun titled "To His Coy Mistress." I was familiar with--as most people with English degrees are, I assume--with Andrew Marvell's poem of the same name, but had never read Aytoun's. The anthology I use for my Interpretation of Poetry classes has both poems side-by-side in … Continue reading Old Creepy Poetry
April Writing Challenge
Robert Lee Brewer is a guy I know primarily through Florida political writing. We're both bloggers on that subject as well, he at Pushing Rope and me at Incertus. But he's also the writer of Poetic Asides, which I've just added to the blogroll (under Robert's name), and he's doing a poem-a-day sort of thing … Continue reading April Writing Challenge
Seamus Heaney’s "The Forge"
Perhaps the thing I love the most about "The Forge" is the way it drags us back into the earliest reaches of civilization. The blacksmith, after all, was one of the most important members of an agricultural community--he kept horses shod, he kept plows sharp after having cast them in the first place, he was … Continue reading Seamus Heaney’s "The Forge"
Another Poem to Love 