{"id":6272,"date":"2014-02-25T21:49:19","date_gmt":"2014-02-25T21:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/?p=6272"},"modified":"2014-02-25T21:49:19","modified_gmt":"2014-02-25T21:49:19","slug":"poetry-news-celebrities-critics-and-chicago-by-carl-sandburg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/2014\/02\/poetry-news-celebrities-critics-and-chicago-by-carl-sandburg\/","title":{"rendered":"Poetry news: celebrities, critics, and “Chicago” by Carl Sandburg"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Celebrities have been making news in the poetry world. The actress Kristen Stewart <\/strong>(who played Bella Swan in The Twilight<\/em> movies) shared one of her poems (\u201cMy Heart Is A Wiffle Ball\/Freedom Pole\u201d<\/strong>) with readers of Marie Claire<\/a><\/strong><\/em>. Critics, especially entertainment writers, pounced on it. Jenn Selby<\/strong> writing in The Independent <\/strong><\/em><\/a>called it \u201cthe worst poem of all time.\u201d\u00a0 Facebook <\/strong>and Twitter<\/strong> blew up with snark.\u00a0 I did see one positive use for the poem; Chicago writer Kathleen Rooney<\/strong><\/a> said on Facebook<\/strong>: “Kristen Stewart’s poem is extremely teachable. In my classes today, we’re using it to play ‘Angels & Demons,’ (which I learned from Mark Neely<\/a>) with half the class saying something positive about it and half saying something critical, then taking our favorite line and writing our own poem from there–some of the lines in it are actually really good.” Maybe this poetry exercise <\/strong>can be useful to when you want to jump-start your writing. Of course you don’t have to use Kristen Stewart’s poem.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

A much buzzed about happening<\/a> in Chicago<\/strong> was the February 20 Poetry Foundation\/Chicago Humanities Festival <\/strong>event featuring poet Frank Bidart<\/strong> <\/a>and actor James Franco<\/strong>. There were readings by both men, a conversation between the two, and a screening of the short film \u201cHerbert White,\u201d<\/strong><\/em> which Franco created based on Bidart\u2019s<\/strong> poem of the same name (from the book Golden State<\/em><\/strong>). The poem is about a serial killer necrophiliac. The poetry and literary work of James Franco<\/strong> get about as much praise as Kristen Stewart\u2019s poetry,\u00a0 but incites even more outrage. Chicago writer Ian Belknap<\/strong><\/a> has a one-man show titled, “Bring Me the Head of James Franco, That I may Prepare a Savory Goulash in the Narrow and Misshapen Pot of His Skull.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amtrak <\/strong>has announced it will give writers free residencies<\/strong> riding on their trains. There is no current way to apply for a residency with Amtrak other than contact through social media. You might want to read this article on The Wire<\/strong><\/em><\/a> to see how it all works.<\/p>\n

March marks the 100-year celebration<\/strong> of the publication of \u201cChicago\u201d<\/strong><\/a> by Carl Sandburg<\/strong> in Poetry<\/strong><\/em><\/a>. If you have read this blog before, you might know I am a fan of Carl Sandburg, a poet sometimes dismissed. Controversy and critique over the substantive quality of poetic work is nothing new; just read William Carlos Williams<\/strong> in 1951 review<\/a> dissing Sandburg\u2019s Complete Poems<\/em><\/strong>. The Newberry Library<\/a> is planning a special celebration of “Chicago” and Carl Sandburg<\/strong> Wednesday, March 12 <\/strong>from 5 to 7 pm.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I thought I\u2019d share some of Carl Sandburg\u2019s poetry<\/strong>, especially since the first makes reference to writing on a train, and the second one shows that all his poems don’t sound alike or look the same.\u00a0 As you’ll see, Kurt Vonnegut <\/strong>wasn’t the only writer to use “So it goes . . .”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Poems Done on a Late Night Car<\/strong><\/p>\n

I. CHICKENS<\/p>\n

I am The Great White Way of the city:
\nWhen you ask what is my desire, I answer:
\n“Girls fresh as country wild flowers,
\nWith young faces tired of the cows and barns,
\nEager in their eyes as the dawn to find my mysteries,
\nSlender supple girls with shapely legs,
\nLure in the arch of their little shoulders
\nAnd wisdom from the prairies to cry only softly at
\nthe ashes of my mysteries.”<\/p>\n

II. USED UP<\/p>\n

Lines based on certain regrets that come with rumination
\nupon the painted faces of women on
\nNorth Clark Street, Chicago<\/p>\n

Roses,
\nRed roses,
\nCrushed
\nIn the rain and wind
\nLike mouths of women
\nBeaten by the fists of
\nMen using them.
\nO little roses
\nAnd broken leaves
\nAnd petal wisps:
\nYou that so flung your crimson
\nTo the sun
\nOnly yesterday.<\/p>\n

III. HOME<\/p>\n

Here is a thing my heart wishes the world had more of:
\nI heard it in the air of one night when I listened
\nTo a mother singing softly to a child restless and angry
\nin the darkness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Accomplished Facts<\/strong><\/p>\n

EVERY year Emily Dickinson sent one friend
\nthe first arbutus bud in her garden.<\/p>\n

In a last will and testament Andrew Jackson
\nremembered a friend with the gift of George
\nWashington\u2019s pocket spy-glass.<\/p>\n

Napoleon too, in a last testament, mentioned a silver
\nwatch taken from the bedroom of Frederick the Great,
\nand passed along this trophy to a particular friend.<\/p>\n

O. Henry took a blood carnation from his coat lapel
\nand handed it to a country girl starting work in a
\nbean bazaar, and scribbled: \u201cPeach blossoms may or
\nmay not stay pink in city dust.\u201d<\/p>\n

So it goes. Some things we buy, some not.
\nTom Jefferson was proud of his radishes, and Abe
\nLincoln blacked his own boots, and Bismarck called
\nBerlin a wilderness of brick and newspapers.<\/p>\n

So it goes. There are accomplished facts.
\nRide, ride, ride on in the great new blimps\u2014
\nCross unheard-of oceans, circle the planet.
\nWhen you come back we may sit by five hollyhocks.
\nWe might listen to boys fighting for marbles.
\nThe grasshopper will look good to us.<\/p>\n

So it goes \u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/strong>
O little rose \u00a9 Ellen Wade Beals, 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Celebrities have been making news in the poetry world. The actress Kristen Stewart (who played Bella Swan in The Twilight movies) shared one of her poems (\u201cMy Heart Is A Wiffle Ball\/Freedom Pole\u201d) with readers of Marie Claire. Critics, especially entertainment writers, pounced on it. Jenn Selby writing in The Independent called it \u201cthe worst […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2018,2013,18,1892,386,2010,12,2009,2019,2011,2020,2004,2006,1523,2003,2005,2008,359,2017,13,765,7,16,2007,2016,32,2015,2014],"class_list":{"0":"post-6272","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"tag-accomplished-facts","8":"tag-amtrak","9":"tag-anthology","10":"tag-carl-sandburg","11":"tag-chicago","12":"tag-chicago-humanities-festival","13":"tag-ellen-wade-beals","14":"tag-frank-bidart","15":"tag-golden-state","16":"tag-herbert-white","17":"tag-ian-belknap","18":"tag-james-franco","19":"tag-jenn-selby","20":"tag-kathleen-rooney","21":"tag-kristen-stewart","22":"tag-marie-claire","23":"tag-mark-neely","24":"tag-philip-levine","25":"tag-poems-done-on-a-late-night-car","26":"tag-poetry","27":"tag-poetry-foundation","28":"tag-solace","29":"tag-solace-in-so-many-words","30":"tag-the-independent","31":"tag-the-newberry-library","32":"tag-weighed-words","33":"tag-william-carlos-williams","34":"tag-writer-residencies","35":"entry","36":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6272"}],"version-history":[{"count":45,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6320,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6272\/revisions\/6320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}