Poetry and About Poetry

Walt Whitman 200 – In celebration of the bicentennial of Walt Whitman’s birth on May 31, explore this selection of his poems, prose, and ephemera;… — Read on poets.org/walt-whitman-200

Walt Whitman 200 – In celebration of the bicentennial of Walt Whitman’s birth on May 31, explore this selection of his poems, prose, and ephemera;… — Read on poets.org/walt-whitman-200

Did You Know?  by  Elizabeth S. Wolf My rating:  2 of 5 stars First, the content: This seems a heartfelt and honest autobiography of a difficult life, often without self-pity. Wolf’s relationships with her parents, other family members, ex-husband, college professors and administrators, health care professionals, and bureaucracies in general are fraught–but she seems to exhibit little malice but much (probably appropriate) anger. Second, the poetics: Wordsworth and Coleridge in Lyrical Ballads argued for a more natural language in poetry than what had come before, a poetry that was a form of heightened but still common speech. The Modernists found 19th Century poetry post-Wordsworth still too stilted and artificial. Post-post-Modernists have continued this journey away from “poetic speech,” often going to the other extreme of writing what seems prose with broken lines or even casual conversation strung out across the page. This style is one of toda...

Did You Know? by Elizabeth S. Wolf My rating: 2 of 5 stars First, the content: This seems a heartfelt and honest autobiography of a difficult life, often without self-pity. Wolf's relationships with her parents, other family members, ex-husband, college professors and administrators, health care professionals, and bureaucracies in general are fraught--but she seems to exhibit little malice but much (probably appropriate) anger. Second, the poetics: Wordsworth and Coleridge in Lyrical Ballads argued for a more natural language in poetry than what had come before, a poetry that was a form of heightened but still common speech. The Modernists found 19th Century poetry post-Wordsworth still too stilted and artificial. Post-post-Modernists have continued this journey away from "poetic speech," often going to the other extreme of writing what seems prose with broken lines or even casual conversation strung out across the page. This style is one of today'...

The Problem of Democracy: The Presidents Adams Confront the Cult of Personality  by  Nancy Isenberg My rating:  4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

The Problem of Democracy: The Presidents Adams Confront the Cult of Personality by Nancy Isenberg My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

How should we best honor the fallen warriors this and every Memorial Day? We could decorate their graves as was done on many a Decoration Day from the Civil War on until the day was renamed. Sales and barbecues are fine. But the seas of white monuments should makes us pause from our holiday activities. We can thank those who put themselves in harm’s way for us with something more heartfelt than a perfunctory “Thank you for your service.” Maybe even improve their housing, health care. Perhaps make VA hospitals and educational benefits less bureaucratic. My Uncle Thomas Kon was the son of Polish immigrants who chose to be Americans. He died over Belgium in his B-17. We could honor him and many other immigrants and children of immigrants who serve by recognizing they are American by choice, not just by happenstance of birth. How should we best honor the fallen warriors this and every Memorial Day? Maybe by recognizing that we are all Americans, that our heritage is best remembered ...

How should we best honor the fallen warriors this and every Memorial Day? We could decorate their graves as was done on many a Decoration Day from the Civil War on until the day was renamed. Sales and barbecues are fine. But the seas of white monuments should makes us pause from our holiday activities. We can thank those who put themselves in harm’s way for us with something more heartfelt than a perfunctory “Thank you for your service.” Maybe even improve their housing, health care. Perhaps make VA hospitals and educational benefits less bureaucratic. My Uncle Thomas Kon was the son of Polish immigrants who chose to be Americans. He died over Belgium in his B-17. We could honor him and many other immigrants and children of immigrants who serve by recognizing they are American by choice, not just by happenstance of birth. How should we best honor the fallen warriors this and every Memorial Day? Maybe by recognizing that we are all Americans, that our heritage is best r...

How should we best honor the fallen warriors this and every Memorial Day? We could decorate their graves as was done on many a Decoration Day from the Civil War on until the day was renamed. Sales and barbecues are fine. But the seas of white monuments should makes us pause from our holiday activities. We can thank those who put themselves in harm's way for us with something more heartfelt than a perfunctory "Thank you for your service." Maybe even improve their housing, health care. Perhaps make VA hospitals and educational benefits less bureaucratic. My Uncle Thomas Kon was the son of Polish immigrants who chose to be Americans. He died over Belgium in his B-17. We could honor him and many other immigrants and children of immigrants who serve by recognizing they are American by choice, not just by happenstance of birth. How should we best honor the fallen warriors this and every Memorial Day? Maybe by recognizing that we are all Americans, that our heritage is b...

The Hands of Day  by  Pablo Neruda My rating:  4 of 5 stars Yet another fine translation by William O’Daly of the late work of Pablo Neruda. One can certainly hear echoes of Walt Whitman in these poems, a poet Neruda read and admired. There are many fine poems in the collection, but an overall unity is sometimes disturbed by a few poems that seem here just to vent spleen against those who have wronged the poet. Don’t let that stop you from reading and spending some time here. Neruda’s language within even many shorter poems goes from the prosaic commonplace to sudden surreal juxtapositions. The end result is to make words new. As Neruda desired of all art, Strike a blow of fire with your guitar, raise it, as it burbs: it is your flag. View all my reviews

The Hands of Day by Pablo Neruda My rating: 4 of 5 stars Yet another fine translation by William O'Daly of the late work of Pablo Neruda. One can certainly hear echoes of Walt Whitman in these poems, a poet Neruda read and admired. There are many fine poems in the collection, but an overall unity is sometimes disturbed by a few poems that seem here just to vent spleen against those who have wronged the poet. Don't let that stop you from reading and spending some time here. Neruda's language within even many shorter poems goes from the prosaic commonplace to sudden surreal juxtapositions. The end result is to make words new. As Neruda desired of all art, Strike a blow of fire with your guitar, raise it, as it burbs: it is your flag. View all my reviews

The Voices Project  will publish two of my poems online.  “The Grace of Firstfall Last” will be published on July 24, 2019.  “Mermaids” will be posted on October 16, 2019. Thank you Editor Denise Powell. 

The Voices Project  will publish two of my poems online.  “The Grace of Firstfall Last” will be published on July 24, 2019.  “Mermaids” will be posted on October 16, 2019. Thank you Editor Denise Powell. 

The Voices Project  will publish two of my poems online. "The Grace of Firstfall Last" will be published on July 24, 2019. "Mermaids" will be posted on October 16, 2019. Thank you Editor Denise Powell.

The American Journal of Poetry  will publish my poem “Bequest” in Issue 7 due July 1, 2019. This poem is part of an unpublished collection inspired by Arthur Rimbaud. Editor Robert Nazarene calls the poem “devastating” and “an earthquake.” I am honored and gratified that he and the Journal find it “perfect” for publication.

The American Journal of Poetry  will publish my poem “Bequest” in Issue 7 due July 1, 2019. This poem is part of an unpublished collection inspired by Arthur Rimbaud. Editor Robert Nazarene calls the poem “devastating” and “an earthquake.” I am honored and gratified that he and the Journal find it “perfect” for publication.

The American Journal of Poetry  will publish my poem "Bequest" in Issue 7 due July 1, 2019. This poem is part of an unpublished collection inspired by Arthur Rimbaud. Editor Robert Nazarene calls the poem "devastating" and "an earthquake." I am honored and gratified that he and the Journal find it "perfect" for publication.

Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow  by Henry Louis Gates My rating:  4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow by Henry Louis Gates My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

Congratulations to all the winners of the 2019 Poetry Society of Virginia Student Contest. You can read their winning poems  HERE .

Congratulations to all the winners of the 2019 Poetry Society of Virginia Student Contest. You can read their winning poems HERE .

Congratulations to all the winners of the 2019 Poetry Society of Virginia Student Contest. You can read their winning poems HERE.

Two of my poems are included in Issue 30.1 (May 2019) of  december magazine . I wrote “Ghazal: Clarity of the Absolute” after assigning the ghazal to my creative writing students in Fall 2018. “Fragments of Color” had its inception as I was cleaning up after Hurricane Ivan caused major damage to Pensacola and our house near there. 

Two of my poems are included in Issue 30.1 (May 2019) of  december magazine . I wrote “Ghazal: Clarity of the Absolute” after assigning the ghazal to my creative writing students in Fall 2018. “Fragments of Color” had its inception as I was cleaning up after Hurricane Ivan caused major damage to Pensacola and our house near there. 

Two of my poems are included in Issue 30.1 (May 2019) of december magazine . I wrote "Ghazal: Clarity of the Absolute" after assigning the ghazal to my creative writing students in Fall 2018. "Fragments of Color" had its inception as I was cleaning up after Hurricane Ivan caused major damage to Pensacola and our house near there.

Join me and other local authors at the Local Authors Reception this Thursday, May 23 at 7:00 p.m. Porter Branch of the CRRL 2001 Parkway Boulevard Stafford VA 22554 Local Authors Reception   Thursday, May 23, 2019   (7:00PM   –   8:30PM Porter Branch Description Mix and mingle with local authors during this open house event. Writers from a variety of genres will be on hand to share their stories and experiences. Books will be available for purchase and signing. Refreshments will be served. 

Join me and other local authors at the Local Authors Reception this Thursday, May 23 at 7:00 p.m. Porter Branch of the CRRL 2001 Parkway Boulevard Stafford VA 22554 Local Authors Reception   Thursday, May 23, 2019   (7:00PM   –   8:30PM Porter Branch Description Mix and mingle with local authors during this open house event. Writers from a variety of genres will be on hand to share their stories and experiences. Books will be available for purchase and signing. Refreshments will be served. 

I am honored to have my Rebecca Lard Award-winning “First and Last” along with five other of my poems as a special feature in Poetry Quarterly. Thank you Editor Glenn Lyvers.  Copes may be purchased from Prolific Press: POETRY QUARTERLY LARGER IMAGE POETRY QUARTERLY SPRING 2019 $24.95 Our Spring 2019 Prize Winner issue includes a special feature by David Anthony Sam, including a fine sampling of Sam’s poetry, along with the 2018 Rebecca Lard Award Winning poem. Also in this issue, world-class poetry by Nate Alaska, Duane Anderson, Pat Anthony, Donny Barilla, Michele Baron, Roxanne Bogart, Marcus Benjamin Ray Bradley, Sarah Cannavo, Eleanor Cantor, Len Carber, Suzanne Cottrell, Julie A. Dickson, Ralph DiGennaro, John Elliott, Elisabeth Eriksen, Lynette G. Esposito, Isaac Eustice, Mary Crane Fahey, Amy Fletcher, Richard Fox, MacGregor Frank, Annette Gagliardi, Louis Gallo, Richard Grannis-Vu, Stephen Gretzer, Max Gutmann, Matthew Harris, Tim Heerdink, Heather Hill-Vasquez...

I am honored to have my Rebecca Lard Award-winning "First and Last" along with five other of my poems as a special feature in Poetry Quarterly. Thank you Editor Glenn Lyvers. Copes may be purchased from Prolific Press: POETRY QUARTERLY LARGER IMAGE POETRY QUARTERLY SPRING 2019 $24.95 Our Spring 2019 Prize Winner issue includes a special feature by David Anthony Sam, including a fine sampling of Sam’s poetry, along with the 2018 Rebecca Lard Award Winning poem. Also in this issue, world-class poetry by Nate Alaska, Duane Anderson, Pat Anthony, Donny Barilla, Michele Baron, Roxanne Bogart, Marcus Benjamin Ray Bradley, Sarah Cannavo, Eleanor Cantor, Len Carber, Suzanne Cottrell, Julie A. Dickson, Ralph DiGennaro, John Elliott, Elisabeth Eriksen, Lynette G. Esposito, Isaac Eustice, Mary Crane Fahey, Amy Fletcher, Richard Fox, MacGregor Frank, Annette Gagliardi, Louis Gallo, Richard Grannis-Vu, Stephen Gretzer, Max Gutmann, Matthew Harris, Tim Heerdink, Heather Hil...

The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West by David McCullough My rating: 3 of 5 stars View all my reviews

Cutthroat – A Journal of the Art s  has accepted my poem “The Politics of Prayer” for publication in their upcoming issue #25.  

Thank you  Crosswinds Poetry Journal  for including my poem “An Old Chaos (Sunday Morning)” in their Volume IV – 2019 issue. This issue also includes “Residential” which was an honorable mention written by my dear friend Allan Peterson. Congratulations Allan and the other winners and honorees.

Cutthroat – A Journal of the Art s  has accepted my poem “The Politics of Prayer” for publication in their upcoming issue #25.  

Cutthroat - A Journal of the Art s has accepted my poem "The Politics of Prayer" for publication in their upcoming issue #25. 

Thank you  Crosswinds Poetry Journal  for including my poem “An Old Chaos (Sunday Morning)” in their Volume IV – 2019 issue. This issue also includes “Residential” which was an honorable mention written by my dear friend Allan Peterson. Congratulations Allan and the other winners and honorees.

Thank you  Crosswinds Poetry Journal  for including my poem "An Old Chaos (Sunday Morning)" in their Volume IV - 2019 issue. This issue also includes "Residential" which was an honorable mention written by my dear friend Allan Peterson. Congratulations Allan and the other winners and honorees.

Inheritors of the Earth: How Nature Is Thriving in an Age of Extinction by Chris D. Thomas My rating: 5 of 5 stars Without being pollyannish or denying any of the damage climate change and habitat destruction are car=using and will cause, Chris Thomas presents a realistic and yet optimistic long view of the impact of humans on our planet. Change is constant and trying to preserve or resurrect a mythic Eden of ecological perfection is a waste of time and potentially harmful. Yes, we should preserve as much diversity of all species and habitats as possible, he writes. But we are part of nature, not separate from it. We are a conscious part of nature, so we do have choice. But as thoughtful and data-drive Noahs, we should continue the revolutionary distribution of species that has increased diversity around the world, and saved some species from extinction. This is a hopeful book and a good antidote to the spate of end-time writings. He does not take us off the hook, but rath...

Inheritors of the Earth: How Nature Is Thriving in an Age of Extinction by Chris D. Thomas My rating: 5 of 5 stars Without being pollyannish or denying any of the damage climate change and habitat destruction are car=using and will cause, Chris Thomas presents a realistic and yet optimistic long view of the impact of humans on our planet. Change is constant and trying to preserve or resurrect a mythic Eden of ecological perfection is a waste of time and potentially harmful. Yes, we should preserve as much diversity of all species and habitats as possible, he writes. But we are part of nature, not separate from it. We are a conscious part of nature, so we do have choice. But as thoughtful and data-drive Noahs, we should continue the revolutionary distribution of species that has increased diversity around the world, and saved some species from extinction. This is a hopeful book and a good antidote to the spate of end-time writings. He does not take us...

See Me Improving   by   Travis Nichols My rating:   2 of 5 stars Travis Nichols writes “A poem needs a reader—how will I seduce you?” There are moments, lines, images when Nichols nears his goal of seduction. But overall this collection fails. Nichols often writes overweening attempts at a kind of surrealism that simply strain or even approach the inane One of the title poems tries hard but strains: Tomorrow in a kindergarten of trees a carrot will spurt from a small hole in the ground and pin the berserk heart of a rabbit to the sun “A Poem from Bled” is one of the better attempts. His poem, “New England,” seems to be Nichols version of Dickinson’s definition of poetry: “If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.” But Nichols version is a bit silly, including such lines as: When my scalp retreats to the back of my skull and my intestine fires flare Through their tubes, I know I am beginning…. “Ding Dong!” I...

See Me Improving   by   Travis Nichols My rating:   2 of 5 stars Travis Nichols writes “A poem needs a reader—how will I seduce you?” There are moments, lines, images when Nichols nears his goal of seduction. But overall this collection fails. Nichols often writes overweening attempts at a kind of surrealism that simply strain or even approach the inane One of the title poems tries hard but strains: Tomorrow in a kindergarten of trees a carrot will spurt from a small hole in the ground and pin the berserk heart of a rabbit to the sun “A Poem from Bled” is one of the better attempts. His poem, “New England,” seems to be Nichols version of Dickinson’s definition of poetry: “If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.” But Nichols version is a bit silly, including such lines as: When my scalp retreats to the back of my skull and my intestine fires flare Through their tubes, I know I am beginning…. “Ding Dong!” I yell...

See Me Improving by Travis Nichols My rating: 2 of 5 stars Travis Nichols writes “A poem needs a reader—how will I seduce you?” There are moments, lines, images when Nichols nears his goal of seduction. But overall this collection fails. Nichols often writes overweening attempts at a kind of surrealism that simply strain or even approach the inane One of the title poems tries hard but strains: Tomorrow in a kindergarten of trees a carrot will spurt from a small hole in the ground and pin the berserk heart of a rabbit to the sun “A Poem from Bled” is one of the better attempts. His poem, “New England,” seems to be Nichols version of Dickinson’s definition of poetry: “If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry." But Nichols version is a bit silly, including such lines as: When my scalp retreats to the back of my skull and my intestine fires flare Through their tubes, I know I am beginning.... “Ding Dong!”...

The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells My rating: 4 of 5 stars A profoundly depressing work that is profoundly convincing. It is an ice bucket to wake us up with a bit of hope that we may wake up: “This goes beyond thinking like a planet, because the planet will survive, however terribly we poison it; it is thinking like a people, one people, whose fate is shared by all.” “The emergent portrait of suffering is, I hope, horrifying. It is also entirely, elective. If we allow global warming to proceed, and to punish us with all the ferocity we have fed it, it will be because have chosen that punishment—collectively walking down a path of suicide. If we avert it, it will be because we have chosen to walk different path, and endure.” View all my reviews

The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells My rating: 4 of 5 stars A profoundly depressing work that is profoundly convincing. It is an ice bucket to wake us up with a bit of hope that we may wake up: "This goes beyond thinking like a planet, because the planet will survive, however terribly we poison it; it is thinking like a people, one people, whose fate is shared by all." "The emergent portrait of suffering is, I hope, horrifying. It is also entirely, elective. If we allow global warming to proceed, and to punish us with all the ferocity we have fed it, it will be because have chosen that punishment—collectively walking down a path of suicide. If we avert it, it will be because we have chosen to walk different path, and endure." View all my reviews

“Staring into the screen so we don’t have to see the planet die.” Poet Kate Tempest

“Staring into the screen so we don’t have to see the planet die.” Poet Kate Tempest https://youtu.be/z4qGLDkK9TA

Marching Orders: Poems by Bill Glose My rating: 5 of 5 stars This powerful collection of poetry by veteran of the first Gulf War, Bill Glose, manages to be violently truthful, harshly hopeful, angry and yet forgiving. Probably only a combat veteran could have written anything with this truth; but only a poet gifted with the ability to find the right images and words could have made the ugly, fearful, heroic truth so beautiful and moving. This is one of the best collections of poetry I have read by a poet writing today. It should be read by everyone, whether they like reading poetry or not. Live the experience of our warfighters through the vivid language of Glose and, as he writes in “Homecoming,” “Never let it go.” View all my reviews

Marching Orders: Poems by Bill Glose My rating: 5 of 5 stars This powerful collection of poetry by veteran of the first Gulf War, Bill Glose, manages to be violently truthful, harshly hopeful, angry and yet forgiving. Probably only a combat veteran could have written anything with this truth; but only a poet gifted with the ability to find the right images and words could have made the ugly, fearful, heroic truth so beautiful and moving. This is one of the best collections of poetry I have read by a poet writing today. It should be read by everyone, whether they like reading poetry or not. Live the experience of our warfighters through the vivid language of Glose and, as he writes in “Homecoming,” “Never let it go.” View all my reviews

“When literature is divided into categories based on the politics or even the worldly identity of the writer, everyone loses.” Susan Cheever

“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” George Orwell

Marching Orders: Poems by Bill Glose My rating: 5 of 5 stars This powerful collection of poetry by veteran of the first Gulf War, Bill Glose, manages to be violently truthful, harshly hopeful, angry and yet forgiving. Probably only a combat veteran could have written anything with this truth; but only a poet gifted with the ability to find the right images and words could have made the ugly, fearful, heroic truth so beautiful and moving. This is one of the best collections of poetry I have read by a poet writing today. It should be read by everyone, whether they like reading poetry or not. Live the experience of our warfighters through the vivid language of Glose and, as he writes in “Homecoming,” “Never let it go.” View all my reviews

Thank you, Bill Glose, for recording the poetry readings from the April 25, 2019 event cosponsored by the Poetry Society of Virginia and Germanna Community College. Click here to watch and listen.

The Poetry Reading at Germanna Community College the evening of April 25 was a success. Thirty-two attended the event, cosponsored by the College and the Poetry Society of Virginia. Jim Gaines, Beth Spragins and Bill Glose were joined by 8 students from my creative writing class and 6 others in reading their work. My students, none of whom had read their poetry in public before, all did a fine job. Looking forward to doing it again in October.

Marching Orders: Poems by Bill Glose My rating: 5 of 5 stars This powerful collection of poetry by veteran of the first Gulf War, Bill Glose, manages to be violently truthful, harshly hopeful, angry and yet forgiving. Probably only a combat veteran could have written anything with this truth; but only a poet gifted with the ability to find the right images and words could have made the ugly, fearful, heroic truth so beautiful and moving. This is one of the best collections of poetry I have read by a poet writing today. It should be read by everyone, whether they like reading poetry or not. Live the experience of our warfighters through the vivid language of Glose and, as he writes in "Homecoming," "Never let it go." View all my reviews

“When literature is divided into categories based on the politics or even the worldly identity of the writer, everyone loses.” Susan Cheever

“When literature is divided into categories based on the politics or even the worldly identity of the writer, everyone loses.” Susan Cheever

“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” George Orwell

“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” George Orwell