Feb 24 Poetry exposes truth about public housing in the Bay Area By Victoria Fleischer For Deandre Evans, Will Hartfield and Donte Clark writing poetry isn’t solely about expressing themselves, it’s also about reporting on a story that’s affecting their community. Through the Off/Page Project, a collaboration between Youth Speaks and The Center for Investigative… Continue reading
Feb 24 Weekly Poem: E. E. Cummings biographer reads his poem 'Cambridge Ladies' By Victoria Fleischer Susan Cheever's new biography of the poet is called "E. E. Cummings: A Life." She has also written biographies about Louisa May Alcott, Bill Wilson and her father John Cheever, in addition to 12 other published fiction and nonfiction books. Continue reading
Feb 21 Susan Cheever writes of life behind E.E. Cummings's famous verse By Victoria Fleischer Cummings was one of the most popular poets of his time. His work is linked to the movements of Marcel Duchamp, Pablo Picasso, Gertrude Stein, and Ezra Pound. The group of modernists from the 1930s and ‘40s covered all artistic… Continue reading
Feb 17 Weekly Poem: Suzanne Cleary tried to learn Italian, instead she wrote a poem By Victoria Fleischer Suzanne Cleary loves the sound of Italian. When she picked up a copy of “Italian Made Simple,” she was determined to teach herself the language before a trip to Italy. Instead Clearly came away fascinated by the characters in the… Continue reading
Feb 10 Weekly Poem: Nick Lantz uses 'how-to' guides as inspiration By Victoria Fleischer If you pick up Nick Lantz’s new poetry collection, “How to Dance as the Roof Caves in,” you’ll recognize the "self-help" theme running through the titles. To name a few: “How to Travel Alone,” “How to Forgive a Promise Breaker,”… Continue reading
Feb 03 Watch Carolyn Forche reads Major John McCrae's poem 'In Flanders Fields' By PBS News Hour Continue watching
Jan 29 Watch Poet Carolyn Forché gathers 500 years of suffering in new anthology By PBS News Hour Continue watching
Jan 29 Carolyn Forche explores writing 'as an outcry of the soul' in 'Poetry of Witness' By artsdesk Carolyn Forche was deeply affected by her experience in war-torn countries. Forche is the co-editor of "Poetry of Witness." When she began collecting poems by writers who had endured warfare and other extreme situations, Forche wanted to look more deeply… Continue reading
Jan 29 Carolyn Forche explores writing 'as an outcry of the soul' in 'Poetry of Witness' By artsdesk Carolyn Forche, co-editor of the anthology "Poetry of Witness," read Major John McCrae's poem "In Flanders Field." Carolyn Forche was deeply affected by her experience in countries at war. Forche is the co-editor of the new anthology "Poetry… Continue reading
Jan 27 Weekly Poem: Peter Cole writes about why we read poetry By Victoria Fleischer Peter Cole thinks of all poetry as translation. "Writing one's own poetry, you're translating a nonverbal experience or a less than articulate experience into something much more articulate," he told Art Beat. In addition to writing his own, Cole translates… Continue reading