Poetry blog

We keep you updated on the world of poetry with our news roundups.

Recent posts

Poet’s Bookshelf: Forms and Poetry

 

I am a lover of poetic forms. Language is music and magic and poetry. Fitting language and meaning together into a set form is like working a puzzle, creating a work of art from scattered thoughts. This is not to say that free verse has no place in poetry - it is very much in favor in most academic circles at the moment ...

Hopkins Poems Released in Musical Adaptations

 

Ever since I first read the lines: Glory be to God for dappled things For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow; For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim; when I was no more than 12 year old, I have been in love with the musical quality of Gerard Manley Hopkins poetry. His poems play with sound like an artist plays with color, rubbing ...

Update: Quickmuse

 

Among the other things dropping into my mailbox this week are updates from Quickmuse, which is rapidly developing into a mini-media sensation. It"s been written up in a few offline newspapers and journals, which has, I"m quite sure, made it easier for the QM folks to entice known poets to feature in their advertised poetry bouts. Since the last time I wrote about the ...

Resource of the Week: The Poetry Kit

 

Where do you go when you"re looking for information about upcoming poetry events? Calls for submissions? Calls for papers? A list of blogs that feature poetry? Something new to read? If you"re like most people, you"ve got a list of your own of places to check in for each of those things, but at The Poetry Kit you can find it all ...

Poet’s Bookshelf – The Sounds of Poetry

 

Poetry is sound is poetry. The difference between prose and poetry, according to many of history's foremost poets, is the way that poetry plays with the ear, the stressed and unstressed accents, the elides and slides from one sound to the next, the staccato rhythm that you can achieve with a series of t-t-t words - it's magic to the ear. That's what you'll ...

Featured Poet: Patricia Smith

 

Hailed and lauded as the world"s foremost spoken word performance and slam poet, Patricia Smith has easily transcended any label placed on her. Four time National Poetry Slam Champion, Pulitzer Prize nominee, journalist, playwright, poet - her work lifts off the page to take root AND wing, living in a way that many poets dream their work will do. You"ll read in many places that ...

Thursday Resource: Ablemuse Eratosphere

 

Emily Dickinson wrote in a vacuum, but most poets thrive on open discussion, exchange and critique. Local writers workshops are one avenue, and can be found in nearly any city. Open mic readings, book stores and the like often encourage exchange. The internet is another source of poetry discourse and critique, and poetry groups of all sorts have been part of the online scene almost since its inception. Too ...

A Slammin’ Good Time

 

If you"re in and around Austin this week, you"ve probably been hearing a lot of poetry. The National Poetry Slam Finals started on Wedensday and they"re really rocking down the house - or houses, as the case may be. With over 300 poets on 81 teams competing, this is the largest Nationals in the history of the National Poetry Slam. For those who don"t know, ...

Poet’s Bookshelf – Cole Porter

 

You may be wondering what a book of Cole Porter lyrics is doing on a bookshelf devoted to poetry. Lyrics, after all, are often seen as the redheaded stepchild of legitimate poets - which is a darned shame. The best of song lyrics often outshine lyric poetry in their timeliness, artistry and piquancy - and Cole Porter was a consummate lyricist with ...

The Saga Of The Dueling Poets

 

It"s nice to know that someone can take a joke in this story. Jack Marx of the Daily Truth posted this delightful history of the Australian poetry battle that is capturing headlines. In rhyme, no less - rhyming couplets, as is only fitting for a story about three poets embroiled in a battle over memoirs, drinking, porn and restraining orders. For those who haven"t ...