A Golden Age of American Poetry?

From the NYRBlog:

In a country in which schools seem to teach less literature every year, where fewer people read books and ignorance reigns supreme regarding most issues, poetry is read and written more than ever. Anyone who doesn't believe me ought to take a peek at what's available on the web . . . As far as I could see, there was more poetry being read and written than at any time in our history.

A Golden Age of American Poetry? The whole thing – the 'confessions' of a former U.S. poet laureate – is worth reading. 

Dust

Mountainair in the windy season: it's all about dust. ¿Verdad? 

NM Dust from space: winds blow sand from White Sands National Monument across the southern part of the state. NASA's Aqua spacecraft imaged the event as it passed overhead, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC

¦:-•:*""*:•.-:¦:-•:|:•-:¦:-•:*""*:•-:¦

Allegoric dust 
alleg 
oric dust 
gasps gen 
eric in 
cense dust 
an in 
fractal swell

ornate ~

it instruments 
in em 
pire sucks 
soft as wan 
ton sleep 
or ever 
orphic me

tre allegoric 
dust's iambic 
rust stays 
some cop 
per swag 
then comes 
in skin

in mote 
to sky 
radi ative 
for cing. 
how ever 
dra ped 
it acts

on thou 
ghts co 
heres or 
co lours 
them with 
its o 
wn film

A thou 
sand swifts 
and de 
com po 
sing fro 
th ele 
ments or 
thou ghts 
ea ch 
con tained 
cling

with in 
a prin 
ciple soft 
of fray 
or bun 
dles must 
y lim 
Aphoris 
tic dust 
it stums 
mist in 
air blenches 
at drifts 
it stims 
bliss dust

clenches at 
studs shifts 
kids me 
sses with 
ids fou 
l I fou 
nd dust 
I rum

maged in 
its vivid 
bin par 
sing dust 
my dry 
troth is 
your thr 
oat. po

em dust 
For dust (min 
ute) enum 
erates: dry fles 
che suck'd 
dry dust 
soaks lu 
shes spate

sof tens 
nets sips 
flesh wrecks 
gleam furs 
vessel's 
edge im 
potent dust 
takes mag

nates out 
in puffs 
air met 
a llic 
in err 
ant morn 
ing dust co

llects in ten 
ants late 
dust shreds 
sloughs blunt 
with thin 
lift. grist 
dust lists 
dust I

am thinking dust. If ever any beauty I desired and got I would give them dust— Its radiative lust, its skills and wit. I would give them Drunk dust, Grope dust, Steaming hung dust, Stained bellowing dust, Beloved mathematic dust, Reeling flushed dust, Civic gesture dust, Glistening Larkspur dust, Infectious dust, Oil of dust, Yellow dust, Stabbing queasy dust, Flushed Castrati dust, Left Cup dust. Herbaceous Squint dust, Cuff dust Pelvic dust, Inky Strophe dust Home at seven Dust, Nuclear dust, Salvage dust, Pleasing savored dust, Nations nursed dust, Coined and coitus dust. by Christine Stewart

¦:-•:*""*:•.-:¦:-•:|:•-:¦:-•:*""*:•-:¦

from dust is forthcoming in Blench (The Gig Press) as well as a version in Dusie 10. It has shifted some and will continue to do so (as dust does). Poet Christine Stewart is from Vancouver and currently writes, teaches and researches poetry and poetics in the English and Film Department at the University of Alberta.

From the Globe and Mail (Canada), "In other words" blog post for National Poetry Month

High school student wins $20,000 for reading poetry

Poetry Foundation and NEA Announce Amber Rose Johnson as 2010 National Winner of Poetry Out Loud, Poetry Foundation press release, April 28, 2010

from Kurious Kitty's Kurio Kabinet

High school student receives $20,000 award in national poetry recitation contest

WASHINGTON, D.C. — From a competitive field of nearly 325,000 students nationwide, 16-year-old Amber Rose Johnson of Providence, Rhode Island, won the title of 2010 Poetry Out Loud National Champion at the National Finals held in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, April 27. With her achievement, Johnson also receives a $20,000 award and her high school, Classical High School, receives a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books.

The Poetry Out Loud National Finals were held at the George Washington University Lisner Auditorium in Washington, D.C. Johnson was among nine finalists and 53 state champions from around the country who participated in the fifth national poetry recitation contest, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.

Her final recitation for the evening was “For My People” by Margaret Walker, a gripping poem about the resilience of African Americans, originally published in the November 1937 issue of Poetry magazine.

One of Johnson’s earlier recitations was William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116, “Let me not to the marriage of true minds.” Actor and comedian John Leguizamo, who hosted the competition, asked Johnson why she selected the Shakespeare poem. “I chose 116 because I think the meaning of love gets distorted,” said Johnson. “It’s important to get back to the essence.” 

Poetry Positions available

Hakim Bellamy shares this important announcement with us.

Dear friends and poets,

For the past three years we - Jessie Workman and Amaryllis DeJesus Moleski - have been teaching a poetry and performance program entitled BREATH (Building a Revolution of Expression and Action Through Heartwork) at two youth detention facilities in Albuquerque. We are looking to fill both of our positions. Following is some information about how BREATH began, our mission, and our purpose. 

During October 2007, Amaryllis DeJesus Moleski and Cynthia Ruffin visited both the male and female populations at YDDC while on the statewide tour of "BAGGAGE", a play that deals with the issue of domestic violence and women of colour in New Mexico. In discussions that followed both shows, the youth expressed their strong interest in writing and their desire for a program that would allow them to write and share their own personal stories. "BREATH" was birthed out of these discussions. 

Las Cruces Poetry events for rest of April

SATURDAY, APRIL 17, NOON-TO-NOON: The 17^th Annual NMSU Marathon Reading, a fund-raiser for the English Graduate Student Organization and Lola (Las Cruces Organization for the Literary Arts), seeks readers to fill 15-minute and half-hour reading slots.  Original material is preferred but favorite authors or selections work also.  Readers are asked to get pledges (or donations).  The La Sociedad Reading Series is among the programs aided by this fund-raiser.  For more information, contact Marathon Reading Coordinator Ashly Bender at ashlybender@gmail.com

FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 3:00 P.M. Wayne Crawford, Joe Somoza and Dick Thomas are featured readers at El Paso Community College.

FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 7:30-8:30 P.M. The NMSU English Department & La Sociedad present Steve Almond and creative writing MFA student David Roe.

Read LUNAROSITY, Vol. 9. No. 6:  New Policies, Different Needs, New format.

join Poets & Writers Picnic on Facebook

April Fixed & Free poetry reading

Reminder: Fixed & Free poetry reading, Thursday April 22 - 6:30 pm open mic sign-up, 7–9 pm reading (feature at about 7:45) in the Garden Room at The Source, 1111 Carlisle Blvd SE (SW corner of Carlisle & Anderson)

Cost: Free (Donations are welcome to help cover expenses, as we pay The Source $20)
Rules: 5 minute limit on the open mic

Featuring Elaine Schwartz, accompanied by Daniel Schwartz on Native American Flute.
Elaine's work, self-described as "a tapestry of place and political imagination," has appeared in numerous publications including the Santa Fe Literary Review, the Harwood Anthology, Central Avenue and Poetica.

Questions, Comments, Volunteers to Help and/or to Feature: call Billy Brown at 401-8139

NEXT MONTH: Kenneth Gurney will be Fixed & Free's featured poet Thursday, May 27, and has chosen to designate this reading as his release party for his new book of poems.

A Guardian poetry workshop

Alan Brownjohn's poetry workshop from Culture | guardian.co.uk. This month the poet invites you to take a close look at a picture, and see where it leads you

Alan Brownjohn published his first poetry collection, The Railings, in 1961, and has since then been a major figure on the British poetry scene, chairing the Poetry Society between 1982 and 1988 and serving as poetry critic for the New Statesman. He has also sat on the Arts Council literature panel, was a Labour councillor and a parliamentary candidate, has written four novels, two books for children and a critical study of Philip Larkin. His Collected Poems was published by Enitharmon in 2006.

Listen to Alan Brownjohn reading his poem "31st December 2009"

Take a look at his workshop

Imagine you have a small rectangular frame, of say 12" x 9", the kind in which you'd fit a small picture or a large photograph.

Look through this imagined object at a view of your choice, wide or narrow, spacious or limited. As examples (but please don't use any of these): clouds against a background of blue sky, a patch of grass beside a garden hedge, a street corner round which people appear or disappear, the space on a door which includes its handle and a bolt long unused because it's painted over.

Write a description in note form of everything you see in this framed space, in as much literal detail as possible. This should be a straight descriptive task, no imagination to be used – yet.

After a few minutes, sit down and write a poem on whatever your closely-examined, minutely-described space suggests to you. Use your imagination as freely as you wish, to stay close to what was in the frame, or to leave it altogether. Any theme, or development of what you observed. Any plot, experience or emotion it invokes.

Please preface your poem with an account of the "view" in not more than 30 words, eg "I was looking at leaves, a matchstick and reflections on the surface of a butt of rainwater in a friend's garden."

Please submit your entry (pasted into the email, rather than as an attachment) to books.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk before midnight on Tuesday 27 April.

vote

...  for the 2010 poet laureate of the blogosphere... just for fun. Unless you have another favorite blogging poet, upport a blogging picnic poet such as Miriam Sagan (Miriam's Well), Tamra Hays (Laughing Dove Poetry) or Gary Glazner (Making a Living as a Poet). 

Are there other blogging poets among our picnickers, our readers? Throw your hats (or blogs into the ring) 

Las Cruces, April 17-30

SATURDAY, APRIL 17, NOON-TO-NOON

 

The 17^th Annual NMSU Marathon Reading, a fund-raiser for the English Graduate Student Organization and Lola (Las Cruces Organization for the Literary Arts), seeks readers to fill 15-minute and half-hour reading slots.  Original material is preferred but favorite authors or selections work also.  Readers are asked to get pledges (or donations).  The La Sociedad Reading Series is among the programs aided by this fund-raiser.  For more information, contact Marathon Reading Coordinator Ashly Bender atashlybender@gmail.com

 ----------------------------------------------------

FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 3:00 P.M.

 

Wayne Crawford, Joe Somoza and Dick Thomas are featured readers at El Paso Community College.

 ----------------------------------------------------

FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 7:30-8:30 P.M.

 

The NMSU English Department & La Sociedad present Steve Almond and creative writing MFA student David Roe.

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<http://www.zianet.com/lunarosity> LUNAROSITY

Vol. 9. No. 6:  New Policies, Different Needs, New format. 

Message in a Bottle seeks poetry

Message in a Bottle Poetry Magazine is an online magazine publishing four times a year. We are calling for submissions of well crafted poetry for our Summer issue. Please send poems in the main body of an email to the editor at <fsmessageinabottle 3(at)gmail. com> (replace (at) with @)

Editing Advice

When Not To Edit 

April 14, 2010 · Filed Under Cartoons 

Dedicated to Dwight, Jon, and Tom. Here's more editing.

Tags: Editing, Grammar, Language, Letters, Mole, Ransom, Skull, Spelling, Tattoo, Writing

I wonder if the Savage Chickens have met the Rejectionist ....and vice versa

National Latino Writers Conference

May 10-22, 2010, the 8th Annual National Latino Writers Conference at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque

• Are you a writer?
• Do you want to publish your work?
• Would you like to read your work: 
• to other writers, agents, publishers and editors?

Register now for the 8th annual National Latino Writers Conference.  Everyone welcome! The conference will held May 19-22 at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque.


Attend workshops that will strengthen your writing! Have one-on-one interviews with agents, publishers, editors and one of the nationally acclaimed authors on this year's faculty.


Register now for the 8th annual National Latino Writers Conference.  Your registration includes: workshops, panels, one-one-interviews, meals, book signings and an awards banquet.

Click here for a list of the writers' bios.

Click here for a list of the writers' websites. 

Click here for the conference brochure. 

Download 2010 Registration Form 

For more information contact:  Katie Trujillo at  246-22-61, ext. 148 or Danny Lopez, Marketing Director at ext. 120


Cross posted from New Mexico History list on H-Net, moderated by Jaehn, Tomas, DCA [mailto:tomas.jaehn@state.nm.us]

Wayne's Literary List - this week in Las Cruces

THROUGH APRIL 17

SUMART y la gente (and the people) is an invitational show of art addressing social, political, and environmental concerns, and an MFA thesis exhibit by Chris Bardey of NMSU in collaboration with Daniel Aguilera. Music, poetry, panel discussions, film screenings, among other events, are being planned for this event.  It takes place at Mikey's Place, 3100 Harrelspm St., Las Cruces.   For more information, email info@sumartfest.org or at their website, www.sumartfest.org

TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 6:30-8:00 P.M.

Put a Smile on Your Face at Amusing Muses

To celebrate National Poetry Month, a reading of original comic poetry is being presented on Tuesday, April 13, 6:30-8 P.M., at the Rio Grande Theatre on the Downtown Mall, Las Cruces.  Presented by Sin Fronteras/Writers Without Borders and the Dona Ana Arts Council, the program, "Amusing Muses," features local poets reading humorous poems. Co-hosted by Wayne Crawford and Richard "Dick" Thomas, it is free and open to the public (though donations will be welcomed).

National Poetry Month for foodistas

a Food Haiku Contest, via the Foodista blog

April is National Poetry Month. In this spirit, we're launching the Foodista Food Haiku Contest.


All month long, we're looking for your best food-related haikus via Twitter or posted to our Facebook wall– if you're tweeting, simply include @Foodista at the end of your tweets so we can acknowledge your masterpieces (this does not count towards your haiku's syllable limit).


In case you need a high school English refresher, Haiku is a three-line poem with 5 syllables on the first line, 7 on the second, and 5 again on the third. Because of this lingual limitation, haiku is one of the most Twitter-friendly forms of poetry– try squeezing a Shakespearean sonnet into 140 characters.


Your food haikus can convey the humor of eating something that isn't what you thought it was, the sweetness of a memory of your grandmother baking pie, the sadness of finishing the last delicious morsel of your favorite dish – any emotion you wish to express. The only requirements are that it be a legitimate haiku (no 5-7-6, people) and about food.


We'll pick our favorite composition at the end of the month (4/30), and send that culinary Matsuo Bashō a Foodista apron and a copy of Dessert Haiku: Petite Desserts for the Sweet Tooth & Poetry for the Soul.


In case you need some inspiration, here's our graphic designer Karlyn's first attempt:


Lo! A crimson grape
I bite into its smooth flesh
Yuck, it's an olive 


And if you want to really learn how it's done, Miss Yu of Tops in Toronto combines haiku and photography for a lush visual experience– brilliant.


image by sleepyneko

Las Cruces, Apr 9-10, Wayne's List

FRIDAY, April 9-17

SUMART y la gente (and the people) is an invitational show of art addressing social, political, and environmental concerns, and an MFA thesis exhibit by Chris Bardey of NMSU in collaboration with Daniel Aguilera. Music, poetry, panel discussions, film screenings, among other events, are being planned for this event.  It takes place at Mikey's Place, 3100 Harrelspm St., Las Cruces.   For more information, email info@sumartfest.org or at their website, www.sumartfest.org

 ------------------------------------------------

SATURDAY, APRIL 10

Sin Fronteras/Writers Without Borders Receives 'Gratitude Award'

The New Mexico Literary Arts board has selected Las Cruces-based literary organization, Sin Fronteras/Writers Without Borders, to receive the 2010 Gratitude Award for Poetry.  NMLA will celebrate the winners for the Gratitude Award with a dinner and reading in Albuquerque on Saturday, April 10.  Co-managing editors of Sin Fronteras are Wayne Crawford and Dick Thomas.  Other editors or board members include Michael Mandel, Ellen Young, Duncan Hayse, Michelle Holland and Joseph Somoza.                                         

SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2-10 P.M.

Soul Verse & ABNMSU present  "OPEN STAGE 2010," featuring Oddisee & Trek Life, HBO Def Poet Shihan, Liquid Cheese, DJ Hoppar, and others at the NMSU Intermural Fields and at the Corbett Center Auditorium on the NMSU campus.

Slam Hosting Seminar

Interested in learning the intricacies of hosting and a poetry slam?

ABQSlams is hosting a hosting seminar NEXT MONDAY, April 12 at 7pm at Chroma Art Center, 600 First St. NW. On the panel will be ABQ Slam Poet Laureate DANNY SOLIS, former ABQ Youth Champion Jasmine "Jazz" Cuffee, two-time ABQ Slam Team Member CHRISTIAN DRAKE and ABQ Slammaster KENN RODRIGUEZ

The 90-minute seminar will include presentations from each presenter and a question and answer period.

The seminar is FREE.

For more information, contact Kenn Rodriguez at 505-379-2666 or kenn@abqslams. org.

So...
SLAM HOSTING SEMINAR
NEXT MONDAY, April 12, 7 pm
CHROMA ART CENTER, 600 First St. NW (1 block south of Lomas)
FREE

Open for Entries: The National Poetry Competition 2010 (UK)

Now in its 33rd year, the Poetry Society's National Poetry Competition is one of the world's biggest and most prestigious poetry competitions.  Winners have been both established and emerging poets, including Carol Ann Duffy, Ian Duhig, Philip Gross, and Jo Shapcott. Prizewinners also see their work published in the Poetry Society's leading international journal, Poetry Review. The judges this year are poets George Szirtes, Deryn Rees-Jones, and Sinéad Morrissey. The prizes are £5,000 for the overall winner, £2,000 for the second, £1,000 for the third, and seven commendations of £100.  The deadline is October 31, 2010. Enter online or download an entry form at  http://www.poetrysociety.org.uk.

UNM Bookstore Celebrates National Poetry Month

The UNM Bookstore began its Noon Poetry Series today in celebration of National Poetry Month. The series begins with David Wilde and continues each Wednesday through April 28. Other featured poets include Rebecca Aronson, V.B. Price and Ken Stewart. The series is open to the public. The UNM Bookstore is located at 2301 Central Ave. NE at the intersection of Cornell and Central.

Apr 10, Writing Marathon, UNM Art Museum

Sponsored by the High Desert Writing Project, in partnership with the UNM Art Museum

This writing marathon will involve viewing the exhibit, brief discussions about the art in the Man Ray exhibition, and opportunities to write and share. Participants need not be accomplished writers, but are expected to have an interest in writing.

WILLA

The much anticipated website for Willa (Women in letters and literary arts) launched this week and can be found at http://willaweb.org .

Willa's website offers new content monthly, written by both established and emerging women writers. The feature essays include "State of the Art," in which an author addresses issues particular to the concerns of her specific genre; "Deal With it," where a featured essayist offers her candid take on the more practical concerns of being a female writer in a male-dominated literary world; and "The Count," where Willa's Amy King gathers the hard numbers to examine rates of publication, award recognition and other factors that affect women writers both artistically and financially within the national literary community.