This week's episode of Word Machine brings together poems from two Northern California poets, with the eyes on Manhattan.
Robert Hass
Ada Limón
Catch Me Reading from Manipulated Bestiary - Poetry Reading March 7 at Gus Harper Studio
On Saturday, March 7th, 2015 at 7 PM, Gus Harper Art (11306 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, Ca. 90066) + HINCHAS (www.hinchasdepoesia.com) would like to invite you to a poetry event.
The poetry event will feature six poets that are set to make their own noise in 2015: Luivette Resto, Rey Macias, Ashaki Jackson, Jose Hernandez Diaz, Ryan Nance, and Yago S. Cura.
The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton
“Every pair of eyes facing you has probably experienced something you could not endure.”
from Wikipedia:
Lucille Clifton (June 27, 1936, Depew, New York – February 13, 2010,Baltimore, Maryland)[1] was an American poet, writer, and educator fromBuffalo, New York.[2][3][4] From 1979 to 1985 she was Poet Laureate of Maryland. Frequent topics in her poetry include the celebration of her African-American heritage, women's experience, and the female body.
She was also nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize for poetry.
The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni
“We love because it’s the only true adventure.”
Get The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni
from wikipedia:
Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. (born June 7, 1943) is an American writer, commentator, activist, and educator. One of the world's most well-known African American poets, her work includes poetry anthologies, poetry recordings, and nonfiction essays, and covers topics ranging from race and social issues to children's literature. She has won numerous awards, including the Langston Hughes Medal, the NAACP Image Award, and has been nominated for a Grammy Award,for her Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection. Additionally, she has recently been named as one of Oprah Winfrey’s twenty- five “Living Legends.”
More from the Black History Month Reading List
Yago Cura - Photo by Luke Gattuso
Guest Post - Yago Cura - 5 Argentine Poets to Read
Yago Cura's 5 Argentine poets that you probably haven't heard of, but most definitely must read
We asked Yago S. Cura, author of Rubberroom, and a former NYC Teaching Fellow, to pick the Argentine poets we should be reading.
These are his picks.
He publishes the Pan-American literary journal Hinchas de Poesia. In 2010, he co-wrote Odas a Futbolistas with Abel Folgar and has completed Postcard Feats with C.S. Carrier and Jim Heavily.
Yago’s poetry has appeared in PALABRA, Versal, Borderlands, Lungfull!, COMBO, LIT, U.S. Latino Review, 2nd Avenue, Exquisite Corpse, FIELD, and Slope. Yago’s reviews have appeared in The St. Mark’s Poetry Project Newsletter. His Spanglish poetry blog, Spicaresque, has had more than 46,000 visitors.
Poets' Poem of the Day - Rules for Captain Ahab’s Provincetown Poetry Workshop by Martín Espada
This is the first in a series of Poets' Poems of the Day, suggested to me by amazing poet friends. Martín Espada was one of the poets that both Luivette Resto and Yago Cura wanted me to read.
Rules for Captain Ahab’s Provincetown Poetry Workshop
1. Ye shall be free to write a poem on any subject, as long as it’s the White Whale.
2. A gold doubloon shall be granted to the first among ye who in a poem sights the White Whale.
3. The Call Me Ishmael Award shall be given to the best poem about the White Whale, with publication in *The White Whale Review.*
4. The Herman Melville Memorial Picnic and Softball Game shall be open to whosoever of ye writes a poem about following thy Captain into the maw of hell to kill the White Whale.
5. There shall be a free floating coffin for any workshop participant who falls overboard whilst writing a poem about the White Whale.
6. There shall be a free leg, carved from the jawbone of a whale, for any workshop participant who is dismasted whilst writing a poem about the White Whale.
7. There shall be a free funeral at sea, complete with a chorus of stout hearties singing sea chanteys about the White Whale, for any workshop participant who is decapitated whilst writing a poem about the White Whale.
8. Ye who seek not the White Whale in thy poems shall be harpooned.
Poetry Goes Underground - Poems on the LA Metro
On our poetry trip yesterday through the LA Metro system, we were lucky enough to have Luke Gattuso taking tome great photos.
It was such a good day of poems and people.
See his entire set
Poesia Para La Gente - POETRY IS GOING under/over GROUND... PART DOS
SATURDAY, September 7 at 12PM
$5 for all day metro pass
Meeting at the GOLDLINE upper level (outside) platform
LA Union Station
Any easy way to join us (and maybe even read your own work), is to ride the metro into Union Station and then switch to the Gold Line. That way you can make parking easier and cheaper, or avoid driving all together.
See also our first Poetry On The Red Line »
The Poets
Abel Salas
"Porque
somos traficantes y mi vicio
siempre sera la letra de la
libertad, la metáfora
desencadenada de un
pueblo equipado..."
Read Abel Salas' Traficante »
Abram Gomez
coming soon...
Billy Burgos
Photo by Keith Martin
coming soon...
Brandon Brown
"Each time I cup your face in my hand, I know that I’ll be with you
as my hair grows longer and my clothes become old."
Read Brandon's "Viking Ships in Los Angeles" »
Iris de Anda
"daughters of the desert
drowning in despair
dozens disappear
daydreams dissolve"
Read "Dearest" »
coming soon...
Luivette Resto
coming soon...
Ryan Nance
"As honest as gold, as purchasable as what may be bought with gold. Mercenary. Turntail.
Cad. An antibiotic administered
Against ringworm of the heart..."
Read "Yellow" over on Hinchas de Poesia »
Sean Hill
Photo by Luke Gattuso
coming soon...
Urban Voodo
coming soon...
Yago Cura
photo by Luke Gattuso
I had been thinking of nothing lucrative at all, nothing
like pure poetry strawberries as large as the heads of Shih Tzus
or contraband submarines forged in the jungles of Colombia.
What is Poesia Para La Gente?
Poesia Para La Gente (Poetry for the People) is a program that brings poetry to the people of the community, in non-traditional places. Some of these places have been affected, in one way or another, by economical hardship or various forms of social stigmas. All locations are unique in providing a safe setting for uninhibited artistic expression.
Poesia Para La Gente is a program of the Avenue 50 Studio's monthly La Palabra Poetry. The program has been made possible by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation.
Hosted by Jessica Ceballos
photo by Michael Sedano
"At 2 a.m. arctic whispers
felt along my spine;
reminders that I loved wrong,
what felt right."
Read "to reverse time" »
IndieGoGo Projects We Love - W.S. Merwin Doc: EVEN THOUGH THE WHOLE WORLD IS BURNING
From the PROJECT PAGE:
Poet Laureate W.S. Merwin has won almost every major poetry prize that exists, including two Pulitzers. His legacy is based not only upon his writings, however, but also the singular form of environmental activism and land stewardship he embodies.
Now in his 86th year, Merwin has dedicated over three decades to preserving and regenerating native plants and palms on a 19-acre site on the north shore of Maui, Hawaii. Called the Merwin Conservancy, the preserve holds the most comprehensive private collection of palms in the world, with over 800 species. These tangible actions for the environment go hand-in-hand with his poetry, offering important insights for an era marked by environmental degradation, human disconnect with natural processes, and rapid climate change.
Merwin is a vibrant, humorous and challenging subject, and has not been involved in a feature documentary before. EVEN THOUGH THE WHOLE WORLD IS BURNING is an intimate portrait of a man who is often called a “national treasure.”
Contribute now (I just did) »
my 5 - Books of Poems I Love: Talking 'bout My Generation - Gabrielle Calvocoressi
I was so excited to be asked to think about and then offer “5 things” for this wonderful project. I thought about poets like Bisop and Frost who changed my life and the way I wrote. I thought about Albums like Coltane’s Transitions or Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours that are currently helping me re-imagine what my work might look like. I thought about making a list of friends and kind people who are always giving me the opportunity to wonder at my good fortune (that list would have gone on for days). It’s hard to pick 5 things and yet it’s such a pleasure, as well. Here are 5 books by poets of my generation. They inspire me with their risk and generosity and intellectual rigor. They seem to me to be the work of artists & intellectuals with a sense of adventure and responsibility. In the case of Sean Singer, there is the great lesson that perhaps the great book you haven’t read is still waiting to find a home and how one needs to be the kind of citizen who fights for the things they love. Here are 5 (and I could go on and on) books from my generation. I’m excited to be growing up with all of these folks.
5. Honey & Smoke by Sean Singer
(Ryan's note: Gabrielle's pick isn't published yet, but here is Sean's 2001 Yale Series of Younger Poets winning first book, Discography )
Gabrielle Calvocoressi
Gabrielle Calvocoressi is the author of The Last Time I Saw Amelia Earhart (Persea. 2005) and Apocalyptic Swing (Persea. 2009), which was a finalist for The Los Angeles Times Book Award.
She is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships including a Stegner Fellowship and Jones Lectureship from Stanford University, a Rona Jaffe Woman Writer's Award and a fellowship to Civitella di Ranieri in Umbria. Her poems have been featured in the Washington Post and on Garrison Keillor's Poet's Almanac and in numerous journals. She also writes the Sports Desk column for The Best American Poetry blog (http://blog.bestamericanpoetry.com/the_best_american_poetry/sports-desk/) and is the Virtual Editor for Broadsided Press. She tweets @gabbat, @broadsidedpress and may be writing her third book @caracaraoriole. She is on the advisory board of The Rumpus' Poetry Book Club (http://therumpus.net/the-rumpus-poetry-book-club/). She lives in Los Angeles and is the poetry editor of the Los Angeles Review of Books (http://www.lareviewofbooks.org ).
We are revisiting the original post, published last year, with our new format.