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“There are kinds of knowledge, in both science and poetry, that can be made visible only by their enacting.” For this recording of the Academy of American Poets’ 2024 Blaney Lecture, Jane Hirshfield discusses the visible versus the invisible and examines poetry’s ways of naming through some of her favorite poems.
“Where is the homeland / to lay a cradle for the dead / Where is the other shore / for poetry to step across the end point / Where is the peace / that lets the days distribute blue sky...” In Sidetracks, forthcoming in May from New Directions, the Chinese poet Bei Dao begins his book-length poem with a list of twenty-five enigmatic questions that dance around mythological, philosophical, and existential subjects. In Jeffrey Yang’s translation, the speaker’s questions lack the end punctuation of the original text, with question marks omitted. Through these unanswered questions, the poet conjures loss and nostalgia. Loosely following this structure, write a prologue to a poem that poses a series of questions gesturing toward your most pressing uncertainties. While Bei Dao’s lines are mysterious and mystical, allow your poem the tone and allusions that feel instinctive to you.
“I think the arc of writing a poem is similar to the experience of ascending and descending physical terrain.” —Callie Siskel, author of Two Minds
In celebration of National Poetry Month, Seattle Civic Poet Shin Yu Pai and graphic designer Jayme Yen have installed a series of poetry installations reflecting the unique places and neighborhoods of Seattle. The featured poems by Seattle poets Kathya Alexander, Bryna Antonia (Á Thanh) Cortes, Cindy Luong, Joe Nasta, and Bryan Wilson were chosen for their themes of sustainability and place.
In this video, South Korean poet Kim Hyesoon reads with her longtime translator Don Mee Choi, both sharing their work and speaking about their writing and collaboration with Susan Bernofsky, director of Literary Translation at Columbia University. Choi’s latest poetry collection, Mirror Nation (Wave Books, 2024), is featured in Page One in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
In this episode of Tightwires with host Hiba Tahir, poet Saba Keramati talks about the submission process and publication of her debut collection, Self-Mythology (University of Arkansas Press, 2024), and offers advice on giving and receiving feedback, and a writing prompt. Keramati is featured in Literary MagNet in the May/June issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
MASS MoCA Writing Through Art offered a fall retreat for poets from October 31 to November 6 in North Adams, Massachusetts. The retreat included morning generative workshops with prompts, exercises, discussions, and readings; afternoon visits to art galleries, studios, and the Berkshires; and a one-on-one manuscript consultation with poet, editor, and retreat director Jan Freeman. Residents had access to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the Clark Art Institute, and the Williams College Museum of Art.
MASS MoCA Writing Through Art Poetry Retreat, c/o Jan Freeman, 1117 West Road, Ashfield, MA 01330. Jan Freeman, Retreat Director.
The Ragdale Foundation offers residencies of 18 days year-round to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers on 38 acres of prairie in Lake Forest, Illinois, 30 miles north of Chicago. Residents are provided with a private room and bathroom, a shared kitchen, and meals. The cost of the residency ranges from $630 to $4,500 on an income-based sliding scale. A limited number of fully funded fellowships with stipends of $1,000 or more were available.
Ragdale, 1260 North Green Bay Road, Lake Forest, IL 60045. (847) 234-1063, ext. 23. Deanna Miera, Residency Manager.
