Poetry and About Poetry

“One does write, indeed, to be loved. Fame is another word for love, an impersonal word for love. One wants people 200 years from now to love your poetry. The great pleasure of being a writer is in the act of writing, and surely there is some pleasure in being published and being praised. I don’t mean to be complacent about what I have some of. But the greater pleasure is in the act. When you lose yourself in your work, and you feel at one with it, it is like love.” Donald Hall (1928-2018)

"One does write, indeed, to be loved. Fame is another word for love, an impersonal word for love. One wants people 200 years from now to love your poetry. The great pleasure of being a writer is in the act of writing, and surely there is some pleasure in being published and being praised. I don't mean to be complacent about what I have some of. But the greater pleasure is in the act. When you lose yourself in your work, and you feel at one with it, it is like love." Donald Hall (1928-2018)

Mourning the loss of a great one. The prolific Mr. Hall was also a memoirist, an essayist and a children’s book author, not to mention a passionate Red Sox fan who wrote two books on baseball. — Read on www.nytimes.com/2018/06/24/obituaries/donald-hall-a-poet-laureate-of-the-rural-life-is-dead-at-89.html

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill Certainly has proved true for me.

Mourning the loss of a great one. The prolific Mr. Hall was also a memoirist, an essayist and a children’s book author, not to mention a passionate Red Sox fan who wrote two books on baseball. — Read on www.nytimes.com/2018/06/24/obituaries/donald-hall-a-poet-laureate-of-the-rural-life-is-dead-at-89.html

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." Winston Churchill Certainly has proved true for me.

Nobody Is Ever Missing by Cody Wilson My rating: 4 of 5 stars Cody Wilson’s chapbook is rich in simple but vital language evoking real emotion from real experience. “Nobody is Ever Missing” strikes the right balance between mourning the awareness of mortality and celebrating the living. In “The Dust of Us” Wilson imagines himself dead and present only in the dust that drifts around us: “You can print your finger in me, drag me across the table… You watch me float though the narrow fingers 0f light knuckled by each blind…” A small book. “Nobody” is one that rewards savoring its clear poetry. View all my reviews

Nobody Is Ever Missing by Cody Wilson My rating: 4 of 5 stars Cody Wilson's chapbook is rich in simple but vital language evoking real emotion from real experience. "Nobody is Ever Missing" strikes the right balance between mourning the awareness of mortality and celebrating the living. In "The Dust of Us" Wilson imagines himself dead and present only in the dust that drifts around us: "You can print your finger in me, drag me across the table... You watch me float though the narrow fingers 0f light knuckled by each blind..." A small book. "Nobody" is one that rewards savoring its clear poetry. View all my reviews

Thousands of America’s wounded warriors are being forced to pay for life insurance they don’t want — and can’t even use — Read on www.cbsnews.com/news/disabled-veteran-hit-with-12k-bill-for-life-insurance-plan-he-never-signed-up-for/ “Thank you for you service.” Then ignore or betray.

Thousands of America's wounded warriors are being forced to pay for life insurance they don't want -- and can't even use — Read on www.cbsnews.com/news/disabled-veteran-hit-with-12k-bill-for-life-insurance-plan-he-never-signed-up-for/ "Thank you for you service." Then ignore or betray.

The Write Place at the Write Time  has accepted 4 of my poems for publication in their 10th anniversary issue to be published in the fall 2018. This is the sixth time WPWT has feature my work.

The Write Place at the Write Time  has accepted 4 of my poems for publication in their 10th anniversary issue to be published in the fall 2018. This is the sixth time WPWT has feature my work.

My poem “ Down ” is available in the Fall 2017 issue of  The Write Place at the Write Time .

IO Literary Journal  has accepted 2 of my poems for publication in their inaugural print issue.

My poem " Down " is available in the Fall 2017 issue of  The Write Place at the Write Time .

Congratulations to Poetry Society of Virginia member,  Bill Glose , on winning first place in the Heroes’ Voices poetry competition,

Congratulations to Poetry Society of Virginia member,  Bill Glose , on winning first place in the Heroes’ Voices poetry competition,

It’s Better Than It Looks: Reasons for Optimism in an Age of Fear by Gregg Easterbrook My rating: 5 of 5 stars If you are contented by feeling that this is the worst of all possible times, that hordes of immigrants are destroying our nation, that crazy people of the left or the right are the enemy of all good, that we will run out of everything, that the world is ending soon, this is not the book for you. By the same token, if you are looking for unicorns and flying silver puppies, this realistic analysis will not satisfy you. But Gregg Easterbrook’s rational optimism is hopeful without being pollyannish. It is a useful antidote to almost everything else you will read on the best seller list, on social media sites, and in the headlines that all scream declinism. And he is critical of all political parties and tribal slatnts We do have work to do, crises to face, problems to solve, hard decisions to make, the temptations of autocratic hero leaders to avoid. But as the author writes, “i...

It’s Better Than It Looks: Reasons for Optimism in an Age of Fear by Gregg Easterbrook My rating: 5 of 5 stars If you are contented by feeling that this is the worst of all possible times, that hordes of immigrants are destroying our nation, that crazy people of the left or the right are the enemy of all good, that we will run out of everything, that the world is ending soon, this is not the book for you. By the same token, if you are looking for unicorns and flying silver puppies, this realistic analysis will not satisfy you. But Gregg Easterbrook’s rational optimism is hopeful without being pollyannish. It is a useful antidote to almost everything else you will read on the best seller list, on social media sites, and in the headlines that all scream declinism. And he is critical of all political parties and tribal slatnts We do have work to do, crises to face, problems to solve, hard decisions to make, the temptations of autocratic hero leaders to avoid. But as the author...

Two landmarks in my publication career were set today: The 300th poem accepted for publication since I began submitting in 1974 (note: I did not submit for 20 years between 1995 and 2014) The 1000th rejection by a journal or publisher. Further, 19 publications have accepted 37 of my poems in 2018 so far.

Two landmarks in my publication career were set today: The 300th poem accepted for publication since I began submitting in 1974 (note: I did not submit for 20 years between 1995 and 2014) The 1000th rejection by a journal or publisher. Further, 19 publications have accepted 37 of my poems in 2018 so far.

The Flexible Persona Literary Magazine will publish my poem “Brittle Adoration” in an upcoming online issue. This poem is one from a collection of “mistranslations” of Arthur Rimbaud–that is, poems that are inspired by the original poems in French, and not intended as translations.

The Flexible Persona Literary Magazine will publish my poem "Brittle Adoration" in an upcoming online issue. This poem is one from a collection of "mistranslations" of Arthur Rimbaud--that is, poems that are inspired by the original poems in French, and not intended as translations.

My poem “ Lineage ” has been published by Red Queen Literary Magazine available online. This poem is based on my father’s father, a Syrian emigrant to the US who worked as a peddlar.

My poem “ Lineage ” has been published by Red Queen Literary Magazine available online. This poem is based on my father’s father, a Syrian emigrant to the US who worked as a peddlar.

Carbon Culture Review just published three of my poems. This is the third time they have accepted my poetry. “The Serpent in his Hands” comes from the experience of my December 2017 bowel surgery and the image (a photo I have, actually) of my intestines in the hands of the surgeon. Likewise, “Metaphysical Changes” reflects on mortality with one central image being the surgical scar. “Comedy of Ions” comes from my reading ot the Wallace Stevens critical biography, “The Whole Harmonium,” by Paul Mariani combined with the disappearance of the ice sheets in Greenland as our failures lead to the inexorable warming of the planet–leading to who knows what.

Carbon Culture Review just published three of my poems . This is the third time they have accepted my poetry. "The Serpent in his Hands" comes from the experience of my December 2017 bowel surgery and the image (a photo I have, actually) of my intestines in the hands of the surgeon. Likewise, "Metaphysical Changes" reflects on mortality with one central image being the surgical scar. "Comedy of Ions" comes from my reading ot the Wallace Stevens critical biography, "The Whole Harmonium," by Paul Mariani combined with the disappearance of the ice sheets in Greenland as our failures lead to the inexorable warming of the planet--leading to who knows what.

Magnolia Review has published my interview on the creative process online .

Magnolia Review has published my interview on the creative process online .

“The bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent and respectable Stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all Nations and Religions.” George Washington

• Young adults have increased their lead, among all age groups, as poetry readers. Among 18-24-year-olds, the poetry-reading rate more than doubled, to 17.5 percent in 2017, up from 8.2 percent in 2012. Among all age groups, 25-34-year-olds had the next highest rate of poetry-reading: 12.3 percent, up from 6.7 percent in 2012. • Women also showed notable gains (14.5 percent in 2017, up from 8.0 percent in 2012). As in prior years, women accounted for more than 60 percent of all poetry-readers. Men’s poetry-reading rate grew from 5.2 percent in 2012 to 8.7 percent in 2017. • Among racial/ethnic subgroups, African Americans (15.3 percent in 2017 up from 6.9 percent in 2012), Asian Americans (12.6 percent, up from 4.8 percent), and other non-white, non-Hispanic groups (13.5 percent, up from 4.7 percent) now read poetry at the highest rates. Furthermore, poetry-reading increased among Hispanics (9.7 percent, up from 4.9 percent) and non-Hispanic whites (11.4 percent, up from 7.2 perce...

• Young adults have increased their lead, among all age groups, as poetry readers. Among 18-24-year-olds, the poetry-reading rate more than doubled, to 17.5 percent in 2017, up from 8.2 percent in 2012. Among all age groups, 25-34-year-olds had the next highest rate of poetry-reading: 12.3 percent, up from 6.7 percent in 2012. • Women also showed notable gains (14.5 percent in 2017, up from 8.0 percent in 2012). As in prior years, women accounted for more than 60 percent of all poetry-readers. Men’s poetry-reading rate grew from 5.2 percent in 2012 to 8.7 percent in 2017. • Among racial/ethnic subgroups, African Americans (15.3 percent in 2017 up from 6.9 percent in 2012), Asian Americans (12.6 percent, up from 4.8 percent), and other non-white, non-Hispanic groups (13.5 percent, up from 4.7 percent) now read poetry at the highest rates. Furthermore, poetry-reading increased among Hispanics (9.7 percent, up from 4.9 percent) and non-Hispanic whites (11.4 percent, up from 7.2 percent). ...

The Tempers by William Carlos Williams My rating: 2 of 5 stars Early WC Williams–very derivative, full of traditional artifice, not in any way revealing the greatness to come. View all my reviews

The Tempers by William Carlos Williams My rating: 2 of 5 stars Early WC Williams--very derivative, full of traditional artifice, not in any way revealing the greatness to come. View all my reviews

Queen Victoria A Personal History by Christopher Hibbert My rating: 3 of 5 stars This is subtitled “A Personal History,” and that is a fair description. If you are looking for a biography that includes the political, sociological, diplomatic, and military contexts in any detail, this book will be a disappointment. If you are most interested in the family and other relationships, the happenings of court dinners, and wardrobes and such, this is the biography for you. View all my reviews

Queen Victoria A Personal History by Christopher Hibbert My rating: 3 of 5 stars This is subtitled “A Personal History,” and that is a fair description. If you are looking for a biography that includes the political, sociological, diplomatic, and military contexts in any detail, this book will be a disappointment. If you are most interested in the family and other relationships, the happenings of court dinners, and wardrobes and such, this is the biography for you. View all my reviews

My chapbook, The Topography of Hope , was shortlisted in the final 10 of These Fagile Lilacs ’ 2018 Chapbook Contest, but failed to make the final 3. Congrats to the winner and runners-up.

My chapbook, The Topography of Hope , was shortlisted in the final 10 of These Fagile Lilacs ’ 2018 Chapbook Contest, but failed to make the final 3. Congrats to the winner and runners-up.

Dual Coast Magazine has accepted another of my poems, “Tanka – A Long Path,” for publication in their Issue # 6. This poems came out of a trip to St. Joseph, FL and the image of the dark shadows of gnarled trees across the white sand along the Gulf shoreline.

Dual Coast Magazine has accepted another of my poems, "Tanka - A Long Path," for publication in their Issue # 6. This poems came out of a trip to St. Joseph, FL and the image of the dark shadows of gnarled trees across the white sand along the Gulf shoreline.