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Poetry is front-page news online tonight. That’s different. The NYTimes tonight reports that Philip Levine is the new U.S. Poet Laureate. Read Charles McGrath’s article here, and get the NYT if you want more. Phil Levine was one of my poet-heroes when I started writing in the mid-1970s. I admired…
Read More »“Are you he who would assume a place to teach or to be a poet here in the States? The place is august, the terms obdurate.” —Walt Whitman
Read More »About ten days ago, NYTimes columnist Paul Krugman got to the core of the problem with the national Republican party. When one side opts out of the agreed-to rules of elections and governing in a democracy, the system cannot function effectively. If your attitude is going to be that you…
Read More »MassMoments reminds us that on this day – July 23, 1846 – Henry David Thoreau after walking from his Walden Pond cabin to do an errand – found himself in the Concord town jail for refusing to pay his back taxes. His was just an over-night stay – as someone…
Read More »According to Lawrence City Clerk William Moloney, the petition to recall Mayor William Lantigua will be ready today. The citizen group “It’s Your Right” led by activist Reverend Edwin Rodriguez with help from others like Wayne Hayes – need to gather at least 5,232 signatures or 15 percent of the…
Read More »“After” is a book of letters in the form of poems that poignantly describes the author’s life and experiences as a child before, during and after the Khmer Rouge. It traces the author’s journey out of Cambodia to the United States and the experiences he had thereafter, through loss of…
Read More »Here’s another softball poem from the vault. This one was first published in the literary journal “Kennebec” at the University of Maine, Augusta. I spent many summer days in Maine during the 1970s and ’80s, visiting a friend who lived near Ellsworth. I brought this poem to a writing workshop…
Read More »Last week, one day around suppertime I was walking our family’s Boston Terrier on the South Common and I had what I can only describe as a sense memory. The strong sun, bright sky, dry air, grass underfoot, and voices bouncing through the park made me think that the evening was perfect…
Read More »From the Prelude to Part First of – “The Vision of Sir Launfal” by James Russell Lowell: And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days; Then Heaven tries the earth if it be in tune, And over it softly her warm ear…
Read More »Jacquelyn Malone’s new book of poems, “All Waters Run to Lethe,” will be released at at book party on Sunday, July 17, at 2 p.m., at 153 Sanders Ave. in Lowell. The publisher is Finishing Line Press of Kentucky. Jackie’s work has appeared in many literary journals, including Poetry Magazine, Ploughshares,…
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