March 17, 2011 Today Garrison Keillor’s daily NPR feature, The Writer’s Almanac, will highlight a poem from Mark Jarman’s new collection, Bone Fires. “A Prayer for Our Daughters” begins with these lovely lines:
May they never be lonely at parties
Or wait for mail from people they haven’t written
Or still in middle age ask God for favors
Or forbid their children things they were never forbidden.
March 3, 2011 The British critic William Empson believed that the heart of poetry is ambiguity, and his theory may explain why poets are so often loath to “explain” their own poems. Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Charles Wright is a master of the deliberate use of ambiguous language, but in a profile this week on PBS’s NewsHour, he offered a revealing look at his own poetic method:
February 28, 2011 Jessie Janeshek grew up in West Virginia and earned a B.A. from Bethany College, an M.F.A. from Emerson College, and a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Her first collection of poems, Invisible Mink was published by Iris Press in 2010. She co-edited Outscape: Writings on Fences and Frontiers (KWG Press, 2008), a literary anthology connecting readers to the inner and outer landscapes of East Tennessee and beyond. She teaches writing at the University of Tennessee, works as a freelance editor, and promotes her belief in the power of poetry as community outreach by co-directing a variety of volunteer workshops. On February 28 at 7 p.m., she will read from Invisible Mink in the Mary Greer room of the Hodges Library at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
January 26, 2011 Amy Wright is the author of two chapbooks, There Are No New Ways To Kill A Man, and Farm. Her work has also appeared in a number of journals or collections, including American Letters & Commentary, Quarterly West, and The Southern Poetry Anthology, Volume III: Southern Appalachia. She is the prose editor of Zone 3 Press and an assistant professor of creative writing at Austin Peay State University. She spends her time conducting interviews with various artists and writers. Examples are available at Zone 3. Amy Wright will read from Farm at the Montgomery County Public Library on January 27 at 5:30 p.m.
January 19, 2011 Jericho Brown’s poetry affects the reader like a song that’s impossible to shake; his beautiful lyrics read like music, hitting the subconscious in the same direct and soul-inspiring way. Brown will read from his work at the Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center on the Vanderbilt University campus on January 20 at 7 p.m.
January 17, 2011 Since she first gained attention in the late 1960s with fiery screeds like “The Great Pax Whitie,” Nikki Giovanni has been both one of America’s most popular poets and a cultural leader in the African American community. Now in her fifth decade of literary prominence, Giovanni is still pursuing her craft, her passion for education, and her penchant for speaking her mind.
