The other day I was on Twitter and was struck by a tweet contrasting the fact that we have a robot helicopter on Mars while on Earth some people are trying to convince children to remove their masks during a pandemic. He linked to the first stanza of Alexander Pope’s "An Essay on Man Epistle 11," which I provide below (thanks to the Poetry Foundation). I won’t pretend that I’ve read the entire work by Alexander Pope, which was written in 1773-1774, and which was … [Read more...]
Facebook & new books (and poetry & taxes)
Happy (almost) Tax Deadline Day! Hope you have your return prepared and that you are receiving a refund. Also hope you did not wake to snow as we did in Chicago. It’s odd certainly to get snow in mid-April and odder still to hear that baseball games are cancelled because of snow. Facebook has been in the news. I have used this spot previously to discuss my qualms about social media. Sometimes, more often than it used to be, I am tempted to quit Facebook etc. But in … [Read more...]
Hot links and hot licks
Hey there. Yesterday was Mick Jagger’s birthday. I celebrated it at The Rolling Stones Exhibitionism. We took the water taxi from Union Station to Navy Pier. I share some of pics below. Now for the hot links. There’s “Twenty-Two Poem Hacks” by Carmen Giménez Smith at the Poetry Foundation blog. I am going to print it out and keep it for reference. Maybe you will relate to “Ten Types of Writers Who Can Go Fuck Themselves” by Gabino Iglesias at Clash. I don't know … [Read more...]
You can still submit to Crab Orchard Review & Vine Leaves
Hey there. How are things? I have not caught up since my vacation. My desk is a paper-strewn mess. And I've yet to go through all my photos. I did take time last night to go to the Poetry Foundation to see Rosellen Brown receive the Fuller Award from the The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame; it was a great event. Before I go tackle my messes, I wanted to let you know that two literary journals are stopping their print productions. One is Crab Orchard Review, which … [Read more...]
Literary news: light and dark
It’s another chilly one, but before I can complain about Chicago weather, I only have to look at pictures from Buffalo, NY, where more than five feet of snow blankets the city and more is predicted. That shuts me up. Besides I don’t really want to post about the weather but literary news. First about Solace in So Many Words contributors. Brent Calderwood is featured in OUT Magazine (as one of OUT 100)—congrats! Kathleen Kirk’s poem “Daughter of Midas” has been … [Read more...]