Here’s the schedule for the 2nd annual Boston Book Festival. Note that the featured authors include Tom Perrotta and Ann Hood, who were two of the big names at this year’s Kerouac Literary Festival in Lowell. Also highlighted are poet and writer Nick Flynn, who appeared at the 2008 Massachusetts Poetry Festival…
Methuen resident Vincent Spada has published his first book of poems, “One Under the Sun” (Brambleby Books). Interestingly, the Hartfordshire, England-based publisher specializes in books on natural history and poetry. The author works in a Salvation Army Thrift Store. To order the book, visit www.brambleby.co.uk. Following is a sample of…
In the Boston area, the Dead Poets Society of America, in cooperation with various groups and institutions, is planning to hold the Great Boston Poetry Marathon of 2010 on Monday, October 11th. Starting at sunrise, in Gloucester, and ending at sunset, on Author’s Ridge, poets and poetry lovers will gather…
The whole inside back page of the NYTimes Book Review today has an essay by Lee Siegel comparing the Tea Party with the Beats (Kerouac, Ginsberg, and the other Beat Generation writers of the 1950s and ’60s). The essay is a cultural stretch in many ways, but makes for surprising…
Here’s Paul Marion reading his poem, “Dylan Sings to Kerouac”, at Kerouac Park during this past weekend’s Jack Kerouac Literary Festival in Lowell, Massachusetts. (Video posted on YouTube by “spannedy”) [youtube]uuSfWNu9gMY[/youtube]
It will take me some time to process the multitude of impressions and facts of this past weekend’s Kerouac Festival, but I want to share some initial observations: 1) We accomplished the goal of drawing a larger and more varied literary audience to the city with a broader menu of…
Trees are changing color on the South Common. The early reds, golds, rusts, and yellow-oranges in every variation multiply by the day. Green leaves still predominate, but won’t last more than a couple of more weeks. I walked the dog this morning in air that was colder than cool. This is…
The Boston Herald reminds us in an AP story just added to their on-line edition, that a newly expanded version of Lowell Celebrates Kerouac! awaits aficionados of Jack Kerouac and his literary world. LOWELL – The city of Lowell is set to hold an expanded version its annual festival celebrating…
Don’t miss Rachel Briere’s article in the Lowell Sun Today – “Never missing a beat.” She sets the stage for the greatly revamped upcoming “Lowell Celebrates Kerouac” aka Jack Kerouac Literary Festival in these opening paragraphs: The dawning of October in New England ushers in a number of unique elements setting the…
How many films have been made about a poem? Here’s one. Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl” isn’t for everyone’s taste, but it did its part to shake up a lot of people’s thinking and sent a shock wave through the literary world. It’s been described as the second most influential long poem of…