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“No one seemed to miss the cards she took.” This Motionpoem hauntingly depicts “Historical Fragment,” a poem by Éireann Lorsung, by expressing it through the line drawings of Brian Rea, the music of Naoh Kaplan, and the narration of Rosalie Kaplan. Directed by Pablo Delcán.
Celebrate Charles Bukowski’s birthday on August 16 by watching this video of his poem, “Nirvana,” about a young man traveling between somewhere and sadness.
In this 2012 video clip Patti Smith, Phillip Glass, Patti’s band, and Tibetan monks perform Allen Ginsberg’s poem, “Howl,” in honor of a visit from the Dalai Lama.
Think of your favorite meal. Write a poem about the recipe, describing how each ingredient and every action contributes to the final whole. Evoke the five senses—from the sound of a whisk to the smell of paprika. Explore what this meal means to you and why. Write vibrantly, unless gruel is your thing.
The puppets of Sesame Street spoof Sons of Anarchy by offering a struggling poet their rhyming talents. Will this poet’s lover leave him? Watch the video and find out. Hint: “I love moo.”
Wendell Berry, the Kentucky–based poet, novelist, essayist, farmer, and activist, will receive the 2013 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award.
The award, announced yesterday, was given to Berry “in recognition of a lifetime of letters exploring how humans can live more harmoniously with both the land and each other.” Presented annually to an author for a complete body of work, the award is named in honor of the celebrated U.S. diplomat who played an instrumental role in negotiating the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords on Bosnia. The award will be presented to Berry at a ceremony in Dayton, Ohio, on November 3. Tim O’Brien, who won in 2012, will present the award.
Born in Kentucky in 1934, Berry is a full-time farmer who has written more than fifty works of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction “that explore themes of community, conservation, and the quiet power of living a simple and slower life.” His most recent works include New Collected Poems, the story collection A Place in Time, and the essay collection It All Turns on Affection, all published by Counterpoint Press in 2012. Berry was named the 2012 Jefferson Lecturer and received the National Humanities Medal from President Obama in 2011.
“In a career spanning more than half a century, Wendell Berry has used poetry, fiction, and essays to offer a consistent, timely, and timeless reminder that we must live in harmony with the earth in order to live in harmony with each other,” said Sharon Rab, founder and co-chair of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation. “His writing has inspired readers to imagine the lives of people and things other than themselves—enemies, neighbors, plants, and animals—in order to advance the survival of humankind and Earth itself.”
“In a time that spends so many words and dollars upon conflict," Berry said, "it is encouraging to be noticed for having said a few words in favor of peace.”
"Nostalgia forgets to visit this street." Hieu Nguyen reads his poem, "It Was The Winter...," in this video from Button Poetry's 2013 Write Bloody Publishing Contest.
Linda Nemec Foster blogs about the P&W supported event at UDetroit Cafe. Author of nine collections of poetry, including Talking Diamonds (finalist for ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year) and Amber Necklace from Gdansk (finalist for the Ohio Book Award). Linda Nemec Foster's work has been published in the Georgia Review, Nimrod, North American Review, and New American Writing. Cry of Freedom, her collaboration with musician Laszlo Slomovits, inspired by the poems in her chapbook, Ten Songs from Bulgaria, was released as a CD in 2013. She is a Pushcart Prize nominee and the founder of the Contemporary Writers Series at Aquinas College.
The same day that the public announcement of Detroit’s bankruptcy was blasted around the world, I was invited to write this blog. Pretty ironic, eh? Not if you know anything about the D’s thriving and dynamic poetry scene. I currently live in west Michigan (Grand Rapids, to be exact), but I lived in Detroit for ten pivotal years in the ’70’s and ’80’s. Those were the years when I started writing poetry and began working on my degree in the country’s first low-residency MFA Program at Goddard College (this program that Ellen Bryant Voigt founded has subsequently moved to Warren Wilson College). There is another reason why the city has played a special role in my life--my first child, Brian, was born there in 1979.
Because of my personal connection to the D, I have maintained close relationships with a number of Detroit’s poets and writers. Through those connections, I have been invited to give readings, workshops, and conference presentations several times a year. Many of those events have been sponsored by Poets & Writers including my appearance on August 15, 2012, at the UDetroit Cafe. That was one very special night.
The venue was packed, the crowd was enthusiastic, and the host--Detroit poetry impresario M. L. Liebler--was a great M.C. His introductions were lively and so were the readers and performers. Besides your humble blogger, the program included the music of the RJ Spangler Trio with Larry Smith, performance poet Wardell Montgomery Jr., Detroit musician Keith Gamble, and poet Mary Jo Firth Gillett. Reading with Mary Jo was particularly wonderful: She’s a fine poet and a former student (she participated in a master level poetry workshop I taught at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1999). Everyone who took the stage was in terrific form. I read five poems including a long piece on my favorite movie star of all time, Barbara Stanwyck. It brought down the house. Who knew that I had a bit of the performance poet in me?
It certainly was a grand evening. Besides, there was someone in the audience that made it even more of a memorable event. Brian (yes, my son who was born in the D) was able to come to the reading and be part of that enthusiastic crowd. Unbeknown to both of us, there was an artist sitting nearby who drew a pen and ink sketch of us while we were talking before the readings: mother and son with the Detroit skyline in the background. He gave us the drawing gratis--”a gift from the D.”
Poets & Writers, with its Readings/Workshops Program, is the epitome of The Gift. The impact of its support that has benefited communities throughout the country is immeasurable. And for a community like Detroit--with everything it’s been through--the Program is a significant affirmation of the vibrant voices of poets and writers that care deeply about their city.
Photo: Linda Nemec Foster. Credit: Robert Turney.
Support for Readings/Workshops events in Detroit is provided by an endowment established with generous contribution from the Poets & Writers Board of Directors, and others. Additional support comes from the Friends of Poets & Writers.
Asymptote, an online quarterly dedicated to literary translation, is currently accepting submissions to its inaugural Close Approximations translation contest. Two emerging translators will each receive $1,000 and publication in Asymptote.
Using the online submission system, submit five to ten pages of translated poetry or up to twenty-five pages of translated fiction with a ten-dollar entry fee by September 1.
Submissions must also include the original text, a cover page including the names and bios of both the author and translator, and—if the author’s work is not in the public domain—a statement confirming that the translator has obtained permission from the author or rights holder.
Translations from any language into English are eligible. Works must be previously unpublished in English, and written by authors who have yet to appear widely in English. Preference will be given to translators early in their careers, who have published no more than one book-length work of translation.
Eliot Weinberger, known widely for his translations of Octavio Paz and Jorge Luis Borges, will judge in poetry. Howard Goldblatt, the translator of Nobel Prize–winner Mo Yan, will judge in fiction. The winners and finalists will be announced in the January 2014 issue.
Founded in 2011 by Singaporean writer and artist Lee Yew Leong and coedited by an international team of editors, Asymptote publishes poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and drama in translation, as well as visual art, criticism, and interviews. The journal has published works from fifty-four languages and seventy-five countries. Visit the website for more information and complete submission guidelines.
“A fabric Titanic on an ocean of air.” This Motionpoem melds “My Love For You Is So Embarrassingly”, a poem by Todd Boss, with the design and animation of Deb Kirkeedie and music of Jesse Marks.
