Poet John Koethe moralizes in an abstract “universal” space — some might call it versifying in a vacuum.
Poetry
Poetry Review: “Island Heart” — The Dance of Passion
These poems are of their own time and place — written in Haiti and France early in the twentieth century — yet they remain impressively fresh.
Poetry Commentary: Native American Poet and Activist Joy Harjo at Tanglewood — A Disappointment
Many have surrendered to Joy Harjo’s undeniable shamanistic charms and classify her as a national treasure.
Short Fuse Podcast #53: Gwendolyn Brooks — A Poet’s Work in the Community
Nic Caldwell talks with Elizabeth Howard about poet Gwendolyn Brooks, her work, and the recent acquisition of her personal papers for the Morgan Library and Museum collection and the exhibition he curated.
Poetry Review: “Continuous Creation” — A Farewell from a Grand Old Man of Australian Verse
Continuous Creation is a deceptively slight book from an incontrovertibly substantial poet.
Poetry Review: “Time Is a Mother” – Grieving through Language
Ocean Vuong’s new collection of poetry is a dazzling investigation of love and loss, inspiring both nostalgia and release.
Poetry Review: Carolynn Kingyens’s “Coupling” — Art as a Means of Survival
In this collection, Carolynn Kingyens discloses what lies behind the veneer of our relationships.
Television Interview: “Poetry in America” Host Elisa New — “Poetry is in all of us”
Viewers are drawn into an active, immersive experience watching the series. They come away with the feeling that poetry is in them.
Poetry Review: “Winter Recipes From the Collective” — Louise Glück’s Cold Comfort
The poems in Winter Recipes from the Collective are about bearing with life in a barren place; they do the kind of singing Bertolt Brecht said was necessary when dealing with “the dark times.”
Poetry Review: Writer Alain Mabanckou — Taking Life Both to Heart and in Stride
Take a dive into any of Alain Mabanckou’s works in English — and definitely score a copy of the new translation, As Long As Trees Take Root In the Earth, beautifully crafted and bound. Vive la Poesie!