Look on the Bright Side . . .

The Poetry Project - July

Here are my answers to the Meet and Greet Questionnaire posed as the beginning of the newly revamped Poetry Project. (i.e. Read More, Blog More)

1) Why do you want to join the Poetry Project?

My goal is twofold. I wanted to push myself to expand and take chances as well as connect with more bloggeres who enjoy poetry. Although I post a lot of poetry on my blog, before Read More, Blog More I never wrote about it. And also, there are hundreds (thousands?) of blogs about books, but relatively few about poetry.

2) Do you have a favourite poet?

Not really. My favorite changes with my mood or if I find something new. Wisława Szymborska however, is never far from my heart. Her poetry seems to reach out and touch me when I'm not expecting it.

3) Hopefully this will go longer than a year. Do you have any suggestions for monthly themes?

I generally have a difficult time thinking up that sort of thing.  Looking back over my blog I find I do tend to have themes, but unofficially and short term. I am often moved by current events and that's nearly impossible to plan for. I'll have to keep thinking about it.

4) What are your experiences with poetry in the past? Have they been positive or negative?

My reading experience has been positive. Since I was reading way above my level at an early age I was used to not always understanding all I read and that muted the blow of poetry's innate opacity. It was only when I began looking to others to help me understand and create (teachers, etc.) that my experiences began to sour. I touched on that in my first Read More, Blog More post.

5) Tell us about a poem or poet that has had a profound effect on you. If you can’t think of a poem, how about a song? Or a line from a story?

Funny. I also wrote about this for Read More, Blog More. To this day I can still feel the 'shock of recognition' that came with reading Edna St. Vincent Millay's I, Being Born a Woman and Distressed.

6) What frustrates you about poetry or the way we talk about poetry?

There's not enough! Seriously, I enjoy the variety in the type of posts and the opportunity to discover new poets and perspectives. My frustration came as I found people dropping off. I love reading the contributions of all the participants and the round ups are like candy.

7) Tell us something about yourself that has nothing to do with poetry!

I returned to school for a teaching credential as a 'mature' student and graduated just in time for the beginning of the yearly teacher purge. (My blog started as an assignment for one of my classes.) I work part-time as a tutor for at risk students. I keep my sanity by gardening and I am slowly turning my small urban yard into a tiny farm. (which I can talk about ad nauseam) No livestock, just produce. And ... I read continually.  . . .

Quote of the Day

Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.

 - Nora Ephron.

What Does a Poet Laureate Do? Billy Collins.

As Howard Nemerov wrote, “The Consultant in Poetry is a very busy man, chiefly because he spends so much

 time talking with people who want to know what the Consultant in Poetry does.”

The title and duties have changed through the years since its inception, as have the activities of the honorees.

From 1937 to 1985, the position gradually placed less emphasis on developing the Library’s collections and more on organizing local poetry readings, lectures, conferences, and outreach programs. By the time the title was changed to Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry, the position bore little resemblance to its initial incarnation.

Officially, there are only three formal requirements.

Each Poet Laureate must: 

• give a reading or presentation to inaugurate their term
• select the two annual Witter Bynner Fellows and introduce them at their Library of Congress reading
• give a reading or presentation to close their term

Other than that, each one is left to mold the position after her/his own interests and inclinations. Some choose to be highly visible as national poetry advocates, while others turn from the spotlight and focus on their writing.

I decided to do a little digging. You see, I love poetry but there is so much that I don't know about the world of poetry.

When I first read the Library of Congress article about Poets Laureate, a bell rang in my head. Right here on my own blog I have the RSS feed for "Poetry 180," the brain child of none other than Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate. It's been there since August of 2009 and I had nearly forgotten its origin.

I think we'll start there.  

Two time Poet Laureate, from 2001 until 2003, he also served as Poet Laureate for the State of New York from 2004 until 2006.

Put your hands together for:

Billy Collins

What? A bit much?

"The reason you would carpe the diem is that you don’t have too many diems left."



So what did he do besides write poetry?

Well, most notably, he developed POETRY 180 in 2001 to introduce high school students to poetry by presenting them with a new poem for each of the 180 days of the school year.

The program also resulted in several Poetry 180 anthologies, as well as a Teachers' Guide to the book Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry. 

Bringing accessible poetry to students (and students to poetry),

 pretty good use of time and influence, dontcha think.

Currently, he has the Billy Collins Action Poetry Project, in which 11 of his poems have been brought to life by artists.

Here is an example. Enjoy.



ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Billy Collins:

• Online resources for Billy Collins.
• Prior posts on Billy Collins here & here.

General:

• From the Catbird Seat: Poetry and literature at the Library of Congress.
• List of Poets Laureate.

Quote of the Day

If religious freedom as a concept is going to mean anything, if isn’t going to just be hollow rhetoric, then it needs to apply equally to everyone.

- Jason Pitzl-Waters.

 

BOOK REVIEWS. Sort Of.

Copycat Killing - Sofie Kelly     

Another fun little story tale of murder and mayhem.

With cats.

I enjoy this light hearted (if murder mysteries can be described that way) series, and the latest offering is not a disappointment.

Did I mention cats?

Little Free Libraries

What a wonderful, wonderful idea!

. . . Todd Bol came up with an idea to remember his mother, a teacher who had loved books and encouraged people to read.  

At his home in Hudson, Wisc., he built a box, made it waterproof and filled it with books.  It looked like a miniature one-room schoolhouse, with a sign underneath that said “Free Book Exchange.” Bol put it on a post outside of his house and invited neighbors to take a book, and return a book. 

That’s when something happened Bol says he never could have imagined. . . . 

- Nightly News.

Please go to the site: LITTLE FREE LIBRARIES, and learn more. 

The number of Little Free Libraries has grown to more than 1,500, in more than 40 states and 20 countries. Co-founders Bol and his friend Rick Brooks, hope to surpass the 2,509 libraries created by steel baron and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. 

When a new library “registers” with the Free Little Library organization, it gets an official number and is added to a Google map where patrons can search for nearby libraries, see photos and stories about each library, and find information about the library’s steward — the person who maintains the library and its collection. 

Stewards report little trouble with Little Free Libraries (as it says on the org’s website, “You can’t steal a free book”). 

- The Etsy Blog.

I think this is a wonderful idea and would like to make my own Little Free Library.
 I have a perfect spot in the front garden.

I'll keep you posted as to my progress and share a picture when I'm finished.

from: The Girl Who Fixed the Umlaut

   - Nora Ephron RIP

 

Salander opened the door a crack and spent several paragraphs trying to decide whether to let Blomkvist in. Many italic thoughts flew through her mind. Go away. Perhaps. So what. Etc.

“Please,” he said. “I must see you. The umlaut on my computer isn’t working.”

He was cradling an iBook in his arms. She looked at him. He looked at her. She looked at him. He looked at her. And then she did what she usually did when she had run out of italic thoughts: she shook her head.

“I can’t really go on without an umlaut,” he said. “We’re in Sweden.”

READ THE ENTIRE PIECE . . .

- A parody of Stieg Larsson's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, 

 from The New Yorker a couple of years ago.