The Bedroom is Trees
Last week I wrote about a three-way interview published by “The Review Review” about the future of poetry. The three-way was composed of Rob MacDonald of Sixth Finch Journal, Matt Hart of Forklift Ohio Journal and Gale Marie Thompson of Jellyfish Magazine. I recommend at least perusing the article to get a sense of what people in the poetry world (and these are very relevant people […]
Oh, Happy Day
Walt Whitman is unbeatable at expressing, to use a word of his, athletic joy. The opening lines of “Song of Myself,” pictured above, are worth committing to memory for they express a private, but generous, feeling of celebration. Today, I feel like celebrating. The sun is shining here in Aspen, Colorado, happiest of happy places, where […]
The “Grass” Part
Last week, I began a two-part explanation of Walt Whitman’s title “Leaves of Grass.” The “Leaves” refers simply to pages, as in pages of poetry, of which Whitman’s book is of course composed. Now it’s on to the “Grass” part. I base my understanding of what Whitman meant on the accompanying image, which reads: A […]
I messed up
Today I read the work of poet Matt Hart for the first time, prompted by an article in the Huffington Post. The article is a winding defense of contemporary American poetry. No doubt a valiant and valuable cause, but one whose defense could have used the help of an editor friend. Regardless, the article is […]