Category Archives: poetry

“I’m Nobody/Who are You?” Emily Dickinson: Major New Book & Exhibit

Posted on April 19, 2017 by
Posted in American Literature, Emily Dickinson Poetry, Literature, poetry | 1 Comment

Is It Just Me, or that “The World Is too Much with Us?”

Posted on February 20, 2017 by

I woke up at two a.m. this morning with this well-known masterpiece by the incomparable English bard Wordsworth coiling through my mind. This sonnet was penned in Britain just as the Industrial Revolution was upending the trusted old courtesies and … Continue reading →

Posted in Literary Classics, Literature, poetry, poets | Tagged | 9 Comments

Baby, it’s cold inside …

Posted on January 5, 2017 by

The “Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.” Wallace Stevens was a seminal, groundbreaking American modernist poet.  A contemporary of Eliot, he flipped the archetype of the wan, pale, misunderstood verbal virtuoso.  Instead, he pursued a lucrative … Continue reading →

Posted in American Literature, Literature, poetry, poets | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

The Father’s Eye. . .

Posted on December 25, 2016 by

I clipped this beautiful poem from the New York Times years ago.  It still remains one of my all-time Christmas favorites. So subtle, understated and allusive.  Thought I’d share while wishing you the joy of this miraculous season! Pardon the … Continue reading →

Posted in Joseph Brodsky, Literature, poetry, poets | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Bob Dylan Wins the Nobel Prize for Literature

Posted on October 13, 2016 by

Forever Young   From CNN today: Book Critic Jay Parini on “Why Bob Dylan Deserves the Nobel Prize” WORTH READING Bob Dylan Lyrical Genius Album: Blonde on Blonde [1966] All lyrics are property and copyright of their respective owners and … Continue reading →

Posted in American Literature, Literary Lions, Literature, poetry, poets | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Ben Lerner’s ‘The Hatred of Poetry’ Revels in Paradox

Posted on June 11, 2016 by

Heads up, Poets. This review in Flavorwire (6/9/16) of Ben Lerner’s recent book-length essay on the disappointments and shortcomings of poetry is worth reading. Says reviewer Jonathan Sturgeon, “The Hatred of Poetry is an important essay because it doubles as … Continue reading →

Posted in American Literature, literary theory, Literature, poetry, poets | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Votive Light for Nabokov

Posted on May 14, 2016 by

  Ambushed, waylaid, ravished by an unexpected encounter tonight with Pale Fire, Nabokov’s powerful daemonic masterpiece. An oddity of a novel told in four cantos, 999 lines of seductive, sensuous verse.  A virtuoso piece, a showcase for the author’s extraordinary … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, Literary Classics, Literary Lions, Literature, poetry | Tagged , , | 2 Comments