Solace in a Book

Can Poetry Matter?

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As I have said in earlier blogs, I always knew I wanted to be a writer. (And I feel fortunate that my path seemed so clear for me.) One article that helped me to think about being a writer, a poet in particular, was Dana Gioa’s “Can Poetry Matter?” which first ran way back in May 1991 in The Atlantic Monthly. The essays begins: "American Poetry now belongs to a subculture. No longer part of the mainstream of artistic and intellectual life, it has become the specialized … [Read more...]

Contributor updates: Levine, biadaszkiewicz, Kirk

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There's a great article on Philip Levine ("Songs," "Waking in Alicante"), our new U.S. Poet Laureate, titled "A Poet Laureate from the Proletariat: An Appreciation of Philip Levine" written by Bill Morris in The Millions. Bill Morris, who also provides a sketch of Phil, says he has committed to memory the last stanza of  "This New Day," which is: And what we get is what we bring: A grey light coming on at dawn, No fresh start and no bird song And no sea and no … [Read more...]

Early October Updates–Bottiglieri, Beals and Boyle

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Jan Bottiglieri ("Why You Knit" and "Oliver") has a new poem, "A Way of Happening, A Mouth"  in the latest issue of Atticus Review, the weekly online journal whose tagline is "six degrees left of literature."  I can pretty much guarantee you will think of this poem next time you see a butterfly. I have a short-short ("By the time") in the latest issue of Eclectic Flash, which is available on the web or in print. Eclectic Flash describes itself as “dedicated to the best … [Read more...]

Beside the City of Angels: A Long Beach Poetry Festival

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A highlight of  the recent trip to Long Beach was meeting Donna Hilbert ("Flowers" and"In Quintana Roo"). She teaches weekly poetry workshops and has for years (with many loyal students).  When Joan Corwin and I were in Long Beach, we also learned about the latest project Donna and others in the vibrant Long Beach poetry community have been working on: Beside the City of Angels: A Long Beach Poetry Festival, which will be a daylong event Saturday, October 14.  It will be held … [Read more...]