Dec 22 Weekly Poem: Sarah Rose Nordgren finds inspiration in her fantastical childhood By Victoria Fleischer Sarah Rose Nordgren, whose debut collection “Best Bones” was published at the end of September, has often been talked about for her surrealistic storytelling style, but she doesn’t see it that way. Continue reading
Dec 19 89-year-old retired educator writes an ode to young mentors By Mary Jo Brooks Eighty nine year-old retired educator Kevin Bunnell writes a poem in honor of the 16-year-old Mikinly Sullivan, who once a week comes to the Frasier Meadows retirement community in Boulder, Colorado as part of a Cyber Seniors program. The program… Continue reading
Dec 15 Weekly Poem: Alison Powell reads ‘The Fields’ By artsdesk Listen to Alison Powell read her poem “The Fields” from “On the Desire to Levitate," Powell's debut collection of poetry. Continue reading
Dec 08 Weekly Poem: J. Allyn Rosser finds deeper meaning through humor By Victoria Fleischer “Mimi’s Trapeze,” a new book by J. Allyn Rosser, starts with a quote by Balzac in the original French. The poet translates it roughly as, “what an appalling condition in which every happy moment depends on an ignorance of some… Continue reading
Dec 04 Poet Claudia Rankine on the violent deaths of black men By Mary Jo Brooks Poet and playwright Claudia Rankine is fascinated with stories about the interactions -- both intimate and large scale -- between the races. In her latest book of poetry, “Citizen: An American Lyric”, Rankine intersperses small vignettes about everyday injustices with… Continue reading
Dec 01 Weekly Poem: Remembering Mark Strand By Victoria Fleischer Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mark Strand died Saturday from liposarcoma, a cancer in the fat cells. The former U.S. poet laureate, MacArthur fellow and author of more than a dozen books of poetry was 80 years old. We remember him with… Continue reading
Nov 24 Weekly Poem: Setting the Thanksgiving table with a poem by Louise Glück By artsdesk “Lamentations” by Louise Glück might not seem like a Thanksgiving poem, but technical writer Annik Stahl would disagree. Back in 2001, she read “Lamentations” for a NewsHour series started by former poet laureate Robert Pinksy that asked Americans to read… Continue reading
Nov 17 Weekly Poem: Hoa Nguyen links globalization and goddesses By Victoria Fleischer Many of the poems in “Red Juice” deal with a concern for globalization and sustainability. “You can see that progression in the book, that there is more and more urgency around the concern about financial collapse, concern about environmental collapse,… Continue reading
Nov 10 Weekly Poem: Derrick Brown heals a horse and puts it to verse By Anna Christiansen When poet Derrick Brown moved from the city of Austin to more rural Elgin, Texas, he was searching for “a peaceful plot of land to hunker down.” The pastoral surroundings enabled Brown to slow down and regain his voice, spurring… Continue reading
Nov 03 Weekly Poem: Jericho Brown revists ‘The New Testament’ By Victoria Fleischer As a child, poet Jericho Brown went to church on Wednesdays and Sundays and “every day in between if we could.” He grew up in an evangelical, fundamentalist family and often sang with the church choir. It’s through that lens… Continue reading