Richard Blanco,
a poet, teacher, and
engineer, was
chosen to be the nation's
fifth inaugural poet.
He is the author of the collections of
poetry "
City of a Hundred Fires," "
Directions to the Beach of the Dead," "
Place of Mind," and "
Looking for the Gulf Motel."
He is the first immigrant, first Latino, the first openly gay person and the youngest to be the U.S. inaugural poet. The poem
he read was "One Today" (
full text/
analysis)
posted by Potomac Avenue
on Jan 22, 2013 -
28 comments
In 1977-1978, a public access TV show called
Public Access Poetry featured leading poets from across the country (Ted Berrigan, Ron Padgett, Eileen Myles, John Yau, Brad Gooch, just to name a few).
[more inside]
posted by mattbucher
on Sep 23, 2011 -
5 comments
She's an animator who loves poetry.
He's a poet who loves animation.
Their collaboration, along with the help of many other animators and poets,
has resulted in a storm of
Motionpoems.
(More on vimeo & youtube.)
posted by carsonb
on May 26, 2011 -
3 comments
One day last year, while working on a biography of the publisher Scofield Thayer, I opened a folder of papers related to his magazine The Dial. The folder contained undated letters from the poet E.E. Cummings to Thayer, early versions of a couple Cummings’ poems and one poem by Cummings I couldn’t remember ever seeing before. It was called "(tonite" and, until I came across it, it was unknown.
James Dempsey discusses Scofield Thayer, E.E. Cummings, their relationship, and a heretofore unknown, unpublished poem.
posted by shakespeherian
on May 26, 2011 -
4 comments
Viking love poems (not to be confused with
Vogon poetry). 200 years before medieval troubadours "created" romantic poetry, skalds such as Gunnlaug Snaketongue, Hallfred the Troublesome Poet and Kormak Ogmundarson told of their hearts' ecstasies and despairs.
[more inside]
posted by msalt
on Nov 28, 2009 -
46 comments
Sir Humphry Davy
Was not fond of gravy.
He lived in the odium
Of having discovered sodium.
This is the first example of the form that came to be known as the
clerihew.
[more inside]
posted by Iridic
on Jul 24, 2009 -
66 comments
Oh cow, oh cow, what are you thinking? Should I leave the gate open?
Are you content? Would you be happy?
Do you yearn? Would you turn feral?
Do you want freedom? Oh cow
Greener pastures? Moo cow
A bull?
Run free cow The Online Dairy Ode Contest was a light-hearted, web-based, sister competition to the
James McIntyre Poetry Contest. It was held at irregular intervals from 2001 to 2005. The only criterion for entry was that the poems had to be Dairy Odes; ie about dairy products, cows, or dairying.
posted by carsonb
on Jun 16, 2009 -
24 comments
Should you find yourself wandering around the city of Leiden, the Netherlands sometime, you may
notice some curious markings on the city's walls.
These
Muurgedichten ("Wall Poems") adorn many of the town's streets
(clickable map), and many English-language poets are represented:
one John Keats, for instance, inside a bookshop;
Dylan Thomas,
E. E. Cummings,
W.B. Yeats, some guy
called William Shakespeare, or this
ode to Charlie Parker by American
William Waring Cuney.
[more inside]
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane
on Apr 5, 2009 -
15 comments
The Drunken Boat publishes poetry from around the world, translations of poetry, reviews of poetry collections and anthologies, and interviews with well-known poets. The current issue features
Cave Canem poets, home for the many voices of African-American poetry and committed to cultivating the artistic and professional growth of African-American poets.
posted by netbros
on Feb 22, 2009 -
3 comments
The Gawain Project is an ongoing translation of the late 14th century anonymous poem
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (originally written in Middle English) into Modern English, for the amusement of Arthurians and anyone who likes a good story.
[via mefi projects]
posted by Effigy2000
on Feb 13, 2009 -
18 comments
A math professor was explaining a particularly complicated calculus concept to his class when a frustrated pre-med student interrupts him. "Why do we have to learn this stuff?" the pre-med blurts out. The professor pauses, and answers matter-of-factly: "Because math saves lives." "How?" demanded the student. "How on Earth does calculus save lives?" "Because," replied the professor, "it keeps certain people out of medical school."
posted by cthuljew
on Nov 9, 2008 -
82 comments
Chinese Poems is a simple, no frills site with over 200 classical Chinese poems, mostly from the Tang period. The poems are presented in traditional and simplified chinese characters, pinyin and English translation, both literal and literary. Here's Du Mu's
Drinking Alone:
Outside the window, wind and snow blow straight,
I clutch the stove and open a flask of wine.
Just like a fishing boat in the rain,
Sail down, asleep on the autumn river.
Among other poets featured are
Li Bai (a.k.a. Li Po),
Du Fu and
Wang Wei. As a bonus, here's the entire text of Ezra Pound's
Cathay, most of whom are from Li Bai originals.
posted by Kattullus
on May 19, 2008 -
15 comments
For more than 50 years, it was believed that the first recording
Allen Ginsberg made of
Howl was in Berkeley in March 1956. Now, an earlier recording – made on Valentine's Day 1956 at Reed College, Portland, Oregon – has been
found. Reed have made it – along with seven other poems Ginsberg read the same night – available
here.
(Click on "Allen Ginsberg reads ..." for drop down menu; apologies for crappy quicktime interface.)
posted by Len
on Feb 15, 2008 -
27 comments
Fisher Poets You've heard of
cowboy poetry, sure, but how about the verse of modern-day fishermen and women? Taking the
Cowboy Poetry Gathering as their model,
fisher poets have plunged into the
celebration of occupational culture with their own
annual festival in Astoria, Oregon. Get a glimpse into this difficult, dangerous, and unpredictable way of making a living through the work of
Erin Frestad,
Geno Leech,
Toby Sullivan, and others. Listen to the sounds of the gathering on
this piece from PRI's Here & Now, too.
posted by Miko
on Nov 3, 2006 -
8 comments
