Poetry
Frolic and Detour contains a few poems that I judge to be instant classics of English-language poetry.
Read More
Michael Hofmann nicely captures our age of truthiness and alternate facts and multiple perspectives, the hollowness of everything from the news-cycle to pop-up restaurants, all of the distractions driven by money and advertising.
Read More
In his new book, poet Charles Simic employs his customary strategies, but he seldom achieves the intensity he once did.
Read More
In Frozen Charlotte, Susan de Sola provides readers with enough aesthetic pleasure and thoughtful commentary about today’s world to remind us of just how good — and necessary — poetry can be.
Read More
C.D. Wright has woven a poetic text that mirrors the tangled intimacy between humans and the beech, in all of its violence, its confusion, and its beauty.
Read More
W.S. Merwin remained politically as well as artistically motivated all his life, often proclaiming the vital importance of activism.
Read More
In the age of truthiness, poet Frederick Seidel’s is a welcome voice.
Read More
Imagine a combination of Stephen Colbert (the real one, that is) and John Updike.
Read More
Part one of this survey looked at one upcoming performance and five CDs where music takes the leading role. This post looks at the other side of the coin, where the words are the wellspring for the music.
Read More
Arts Remembrance: A Tribute to Poet and Writer John Ash
We were both English-speaking ex-patriots living in Istanbul, and John Ash’s poetry spoke eloquently to that shared experience.
Read More