National Poetry Month 2007

'Thanksgiving Letter from Harry'

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 14:28:00 -0400

Carl Dennis is the artist in residence at SUNY at Buffalo. "Thanksgiving Letter from Henry" is a poem from his most recent book, Unknown Friends, which will be released in April by Penguin.

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'Apples'

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:18:00 -0400

Grace Schulman's poem, "Apples," is from her book The Broken String. The eminent literary critic Harold Bloom calls Schulman "an elegiac, highly original religious lyricist"and says that The Broken String "surpasses her distinguished previous work."

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'Thing'

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 15:10:00 -0400

"Thing" appears in Next Life, Rae Armantrout's new collection of poems. Armantrout has taught writing for almost 20 years at the University of California, San Diego. Her work has been praised for syntax that borders on everyday speech while grappling with questions of deception and distortion.

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'In the Old Days...'

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 13:05:00 -0400

This untitled poem is from Ko Un's most recent book, Flowers of a Moment, translated by Brother Anthony of Taize, Young-moo Kim, and Gary Gach. Ko Un grew up in Korea during the Japanese Occupation. During the Korean War, he was conscripted by the People's Army. In 1952, he became a Buddhist and lived a monastic life for ten years.

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'For the Confederate Dead'

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 13:23:00 -0400

Kevin Young's most recent collection of poems, For the Confederate Dead, explores "the contradictions of our 'Confederate' legacy and the troubled nation where that legacy still lingers." Read the book's title poem.

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'Second Draft'

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 15:47:00 -0400

James Longenbach's "Second Draft" is from his third book of poems, Draft of a Letter. Of the collection, The Los Angeles Times Book Review said, "A sensibility this cogent, this subtle and austere is rare; even rarer is its proof that poetry still flows through all things and transforms all things in the process."

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'Poem'

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 14:59:00 -0400

Raised in Oklahoma and now residing in Brooklyn, New York, poet Matthew Rohrer "turns wide eyes and lyric wit toward the requirements of fatherhood, citizenship, and romantic love" in his new collection, Rise Up.

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'Atlantis — A Lost Sonnet'

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 14:32:00 -0400

For her 10th book, Domestic Violence, Irish poet Eavan Boland turns to "the charged spaces in which people live, about the interiors where seductions, quarrels, memories and griefs occur."

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'Oil & Steel'

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 14:30:00 -0400

"Oil & Steel" appears in Henri Cole's latest collection of poems, Blackbird and Wolf. In this sixth collection of poetry, the Virginia-based poet deepens his excavations of autobiography and memory.

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'Bent Orbit'

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 15:16:00 -0400

The poet August Kleinzahler says Elaine Equi's poems "have a mystery to them that their offhandedness and surface whimsy belie. Reading her, you may find the world becomes a more unstable, various, and gently freaky place."

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'Language'

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 15:07:00 -0400

W.S. Merwin has received numerous awards, including the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. This poem, "Language," is representative of the pieces in his newest book, The Book of Fables, which blur the distinctions between essay, fiction, and poetry.

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'Letter Home'

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 14:16:00 -0400

"Letter Home" is from Pamela Alexander's fourth collection, Slow Fire. James Merrill writes of Alexander, "This poet works elegantly, unpredictably, without teasing. Her voice can be wholly direct ('Hey you'); her subjects — heat, air, sex, trees, the peerless dog Pfoxer — impeccably democratic."

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