Umberto Saba
Volume One, 2007 of Northwest Review contains stunning translations of the autobiographical sonnets of Umberto Saba. My favorite, “4”, is available on the bottom of this page.
Poetry
So Long, Forest Grove
Another whirlwind MFA residency has come and gone–this one my first on the beautiful Pacific University campus. Thanks to all who made it such a spectacular event. Here is a parting taste of the campus: (Click any image to enlarge)
Sandra Alcosser on Brevity
The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough. -Ezra Pound, “In a Station of the Metro” It was worth flying back and getting a short night of sleep last night to hear Sandra Alcosser speak about brevity in poetry this morning. I am no stranger to shortness–my most recently …
An MFA Is Not…
I woke up this morning thinking: an MFA is not a stamp of quality. At least, it does not guarantee that the quality of work the artist has produced to earn the degree is any better (or even as good) as the work they submitted to get in to the program. That is because you …
Why Publish?
Christopher Howell of Eastern Washington University Press gave an excellent overview of publishing options this afternoon–including vanity presses, self-publishing, cooperatives, small, independent, university and corporate publishers. Above all he encouraged right motivation: to publish [He put forward the idea of publishing] as means to enter the larger literary conversation, and encouraged the practice of detachment …
Poetry Is…
“Poetry is the least imposition on silence in a world of chatter.” -Marvin Bell Time for lunch.