Poetry News Round Up: June 2013

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Alexei Ulyukayev, American, army, award, Beattie's Book Blog, book, Booksellers NZ, Canadian, David McFadden, Economy Minister, Father Victor Phalana, Fleur Adcock, freedom, Ghassan Zaqtan, Glass Wings, Griffin Poetry Prize, In Flanders Fields, Israeli, Jeffrey Brown, John McCrae, John Redmond, loss, love, Madiba, Margaret Atwood, Mediclinic Heart Hospital, Natasha Trethewey, Nelson Mandela, New Zealander, news, NewsHour, Palestinian, PBS, photomosaic, poem, Poet Laureate, poetry, Poetry and Privacy, politician, politics, Pretoria, priest, radio, Russian, social media, society, soldier, South African, The Guardian, The Independent, visa, Vladimir Putin

We’re at the halfway point of 2013.  Here’s your regular poetry news round up. My pleasure.

A Poem for Madiba

As South Africans come to term with Nelson Mandela‘s recent deterioration in health, a Pretoria priest, Father Victor Phalana, has put his love and sense of loss for Mandela into a poem.

Mandela has been in the Mediclinic Heart Hospital for four weeks now and remains in a “critical but stable” condition. Here is an extract from Father Victor’s poem, which you can also read in full here:

“We are busy with your last paragraph and your last chapter

We have started to mourn and grieve as you melt away

We are anxious and worried; we are paying our respects,

We say Goodbye.”

– Nelson Mandela Photomosaic
[Source: Flickr Creative Commons © MastaBaba]

Poets ARE Fighters

A Israeli soldier was banned from reading his poetry out on the radio because officers said it would “ruin the image of the combat soldier.” Cue much media outrage.

As The Independent pointed out, “Can anyone really say that John McCrae was a wuss when he wrote ‘In Flanders Fields’ and before dying of pneumonia on a French battlefield in 1918?”

An Unfortunate Poem…

Vladimir Putin appointed a new Economy Minister, Alexei Ulyukayev – who it was recently revealed wrote a poem two years ago urging Russians to leave the country and seek freedom. The poems begins: “Get out, my son, get out of here.”

Natasha still going strong

The US poet laureate, Natasha Trethewey, has been reappointed for a second one-year term. According to mail.com, in her second term she will collaborate with PBS senior correspondent Jeffrey Brown and the NewsHour series of reports about poetry and society from around the country.

US Poet Laureate, Natasha Trethewey
[Source: Flickr Creative Commons © WTPfefferle]

A Trip to Canada

The 2013 Griffin Poetry Prize in Canada was won by David McFadden and Palestinian poet Ghassan Zaqtan. However, before the ceremony, Zaqtan had initially been the subject of refusal for a visa when Canadian authorities said the reason for his visit was “unconvincing.”

This unleashed a social media storm, with the likes of the novelist Margaret Atwood weighing in with their support. Happily, within 72 hours the visa was granted.

Book Releases

Here are a couple of highlights from the poetry books published during June.

• Poetry and Privacy by John Redmond, a study of the treatment of public and private spheres in contemporary poetry. The Guardian says there is “a cut and thrust to Redmond’s work” and that it is a “fine book.”
• Glass Wings by Fleur Adcock. Booksellers NZ assesses this collection as “a mixed bag,” whereas Beattie’s Book Blog thinks Adcock “has a stunning ear, pulling off rhyme- and rhythm-schemes which appear, deceptively so, easy.”

Poetry News Round Up: October 2012

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African, Alex Salmond, American, Antonio Cisneros, art, Bodleian, book, British, Cecil Day-Lewis, Christmas, Efrat Ben Zur, Emily Dickinson, Forward Prize, FT Prince, Full House, German, Gunter Grass, human rights, Israeli, James Lasdun, Jamie McKendrick, Jeffrey Wainwright, Jorie Graham, Lucille Clifton, Matthew Dickman, Mayakowsky's Revolver, Mohammed al-Ajami, Mordechai Vanunu, Nabokov, Natasha Trethewey, National Poetry Day, National Portrait Gallery, news, Nguyen Chi Thien, Out There, paintings, Peruvian, Poet Laureate, poetry, Poetry Africa, Poetry of the Taliban, Qatari, race, Santa, Scottish, Sharon Olds, slam poem, South Africa, Taliban, Ted and I, Ted Hughes, The Fall of Arthur, The Night Before Christmas, The Reasoner, The Stag's Leap, Tolkein, Tom Hanks, TV, Vietnamese, Water Sessions

All your essential poetry news from the month of October, painstakingly filtered through five layers of volcanic rock by yours truly.

There have been a couple of rather odd stories doing the rounds in the global media this month and I’ll start with them.

First we have the news that a version of ‘The Night Before Christmas‘ has been published in which the reference to Santa smoking a pipe has been removed. This minor event has attracted an extraordinary amount of attention.

Secondly, the media have been almost obsessive in their detailed coverage of Tom Hanks‘s performance of a ‘slam poem’ about the US show Full House. This has been mentioned absolutely everywhere and I’m sick to death of hearing about it.

But back to more important matters…

On 4 October the UK celebrated National Poetry Day. The theme this year was ‘stars’. The Telegraph marked the occasion with a lovely collection of the best poetry tweets. Meanwhile, Poetry Africa has been running in South Africa and other African countries between 15 and 20 October.

Natasha Trethewey, who became the US Poet Laureate in September, made an interesting speech on racial identity and how she first became interested in writing poetry. I’m feeling more and more that I’m missing out having never read her work.

The prestigious British Forward Prize for Poetry has been won by Jorie Graham. She is the first female US poet to have won the prize. You can read a good interview with Jorie Graham that she gave to Earthlines.

The news that J R R Tolkein‘s epic poem The Fall of Arthur is to be published next year has attracted a deal of attention. While this is bound to come out with a big fanfare given the ongoing movie adaptations of Tolkein’s novels, personally I wouldn’t get too excited as Tolkein’s poetic style is likely to be a little indigestible over a work of this length. However, if do you want to get a flavour of it, the Guardian ran an article that includes the first few lines of the 200-page poem.

There is a great little story in the Scottish press about a poem which Alex Salmond overheard in a pub and proceeded to quote in a SNP political speech. There is good news too for Cecil Day-Lewis, who is well overdue a resurgence in interest which will only be helped by the donation of his literary archive to Oxford University’s Bodleian Library.

Poetry Magazine, the journal which started in Chicago and is famous for championing the cause of female poets, celebrated its 100^th anniversary. Meanwhile, the National Portrait Gallery in the US is holding an exhibition looking at the nation’s most famous poets of the twentieth century.

Extraordinarily, the German poet Günter Grass has yet again risked incurring Israeli wrath by writing a poem praising the nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu who spent 18 years in an Israeli prison. Grass has already angered Israel once before this year when in April he wrote a poem claiming that the country’s policies were risking world peace.

Emily Dickinson‘s poetry has been set to song by the Israeli singer-songwriter Efrat Ben Zur in a fascinating project. Well worth a look. Elsewhere in the Middle East, however, the Qatari poet Mohammed al-Ajami continues to be held on spurious charges, attracting a lot of attention in regional media and with human rights groups.

Spare a thought for the Peruvian poet Antonio Cisneros, and the pro-democracy Vietnamese poet Nguyen Chi Thien, both of whom we bade goodbye to this month.

Last but not least, here is a quick round up of some newly published books that might be worth taking a look. Matthew Dickman‘s Mayakowsky’s Revolver sounds dark but important. James Lasdun makes a welcome return to poetry after ten years with Water Sessions. Sharon Olds‘s The Stag’s Leap seems to have attracted good reviews all round. The Reasoner by Jeffrey Wainwright sounds rather austere, while Out There by Jamie McKendrick sounds well, ‘out there.’ There has been an understandably mixed reaction to the publication of Poetry of the Taliban. Plainspoken Lucille Clifton‘s Collected Poems 1965-2010 are out, as are the Collected Poems of Vladimir Nabokov and the Collected Poems 1935-92 of F T Prince. Ted Hughes‘s brother Gerald has published a memoir, Ted and I.

And that, as they say, is that. More in a month’s time!

Poems I Like (1)

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A Part Song, Adelle, Afghan, American, Ancient Music, Anglo-Saxon, Appollinaire, articles, baby, Blogosphere, blogs, Blue Sky Infinite, Brazen Butternut Squash, British, Coleridge, Daddy, daughter, Denise Riley, Dorothea Lasky, Edward Thomas, Edwin Thumboo, Elaine Westheimer, Enlightenment, ethnicity, Ezra Pound, feelings, Fish Loon, French, ice, ideas, Island, Iza Trapani, Jessy Randall, Karin Boye, Kubla Khan, Le Pont Mirabeau, Lost and Found, Man and Dog, medieval, My God, Natasha Trethewey, Nazim Hikmet Ran, October, October Baby, Pennine Way, philosophy, Poet Laureate, poetry, Rainbow Girl, river, Sara Teasdale, selfhood, September 24th 1945, Simon Armitage, Singaporean, Spring, Sumer Is Icomen In, Swedish, Sylvia Plath, The Bridal Morn, The Consultant, The Look, The Seafarer, The Undertow, Tin and Rust, Tony Harrison, truth, Turkish, v, walk, Weasel Mornings, Writing Without Paper, Yes of Course It Hurts

Here is a round up of some of the poetry I’ve recently enjoyed online. The criteria for appearing here is very simple, being a) it’s something I recently stumbled across; and b) I liked it and thought it worth sharing!

First up, here is an absolute beauty of a poem by the Swedish poet Karin Boye. It’s called Yes, Of Course It Hurts, and uses the moment of the ice breaking and melting in early Spring to wonderful effect. An instant favourite with me!

I’ve enjoyed two poems by Ezra Pound which are re-workings of old medieval originals. The first is The Seafarer, which is an updated version of the Anglo-Saxon poem of the same name. The second is called Ancient Music and is a humorous take on the thirteenth century Sumer Is Icomen In. Oh, and while we’re on the subject of medieval poetry, I’d also recommend The Bridal Morn – you’ll be reciting the refrain from this one all day!

A couple of poems that really reward a bit of time and re-reading next. Here is a powerful poem by Denise Riley, called A Part Song, about trying to capture feelings and moments in words – it’s very raw. And I’d also recommend Man and Dog by Edward Thomas – the more you read it, the more it will bring you to tears.

Natasha Trethewey, the new US poet laureate, is not someone I’ve read but she is well known for tackling the topic of ethnicity and more specifically her personal experience of being the daughter of mixed parentage. The poem Enlightenment is a bombshell and certainly makes me want to read more.

Next, I came across this poem by the French poet Guillaume Appollinaire. It’s called Le Pont Mirabeau and is worth reading alone for the wonderful line ‘love goes away the way this river flows away’. That’s what poetry is all about isn’t it? Beautiful! I also think everyone will enjoy the short poem The Look by Sara Teasdale. You can really feel the pain of love lost in this one.

Fancy a bit of quirky but philosophical humour? Look no further than The Consultant by Jessy Randall. Or have a gander at these attempts at completing Coleridge‘s unfinished poem Kubla Khan. Finally, take a quick look at September 24^th 1945 by the Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet Ran, it’s a stunner!

Next is a section rounding up poems I’ve recently enjoyed from the Blogosphere. There’s so much out there, you really just have to look! This is just a taster of the poems that have touched me recently, so apologies to everyone who I couldn’t fit in this time.

Brazen Butternut Squash by Iza Trapani is a quirky food-related poem I think you will like. The Undertow at Weasel Mornings made me catch my breath. Island by Edwin Thumboo captures perfectly the encroaching urbanisation in Singapore. Rainbow Girl by Fish Loon makes you feel like you are swooping and snatching like the protagonist in the poem! October Baby at Blue Sky Infinite makes me wish I was an October baby too! My God by Adelle is a strong poem about truth and selfhood. Lost and Found by Elaine Westheimer reminds us whatever else we’ve lost not to lose each other. Tin and Rust at Writing Without Paper also reminds us to keep things clean and fresh!

Finally, here is a selection of the poetry articles which I have most enjoyed reading lately.  Hopefully you’ll find some of these interesting.

Firstly, here is a story looking back 25 years to the publication of Tony Harrison‘s poem v and asking whether poetry belongs on the front pages. Next is an article by Dorothea Lasky asking whether poetry is an essential tool for the generation of new ideas. The Paris Review has an enlightening account of what led Sylvia Plath to write her famous poem Daddy. The New York Times Magazine gives us a sense of perspective with its tale of an Afghan female poets’ group. Simon Armitage entertains us with his recollections of his recent walk along the Pennine Way during which he paid his way by reading poetry. And I particularly enjoyed this piece in the Guardian about the best time of the day to write a poem.

Well that’s all I have for now folks! I hope you find something here that you’ll enjoy as much as I did.