Poetry
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“Collected Poems” by Jack Kerouac
You know Jack Kerouac. Everyone knows Jack Kerouac. Father of the Beat generation, though he disliked that label, author of the free thinkers bible On the Road, culture maker, lover of the mad, and general all around badass. He receives…
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“Babel’s Moon” by Brandon Som
In the 2000 Chinese film, In the Mood for Love, an ancient story is shared that portends to secrets: if you have a burning secret, you must take it to the top a mountain.
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“To Keep Love Blurry” by Craig Morgan Teicher
Craig Morgan Teicher’s third collection To Keep Love Blurry calls attention to our formal and confessional roots in giants such as Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, and Robert Frost. Teicher’s wife, poet Brenda Shaughnessy (after whom he titled his first collection…
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Our Andromeda by Brenda Shaughnessy
In her new collection, Our Andromeda, Brenda Shaughnessy presents emotions at their most bare in experiences both familiar and alien—and alien sometimes in a literal sense as the speakers regularly shuttle to and from the Andromeda Galaxy, the galaxy closest…
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David Biespiel’s Poetry Wire: Poetry and the Newtown Massacre
Last week I had intended to take a quick Christmastime breather from writing Poetry Wire until the beginning of next year. Then on Friday came the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. (Then, too, on Sunday, the sudden death of an admired…
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Charms Against Lightning by James Arthur
The debut collection of poetry might just deserve its own taxon in the categorizing of literary contributions. One can almost picture beneath the heading of ‘Debuts’ a series of subheadings such as ‘Showed Great Promise Only at First,’ ‘Terrible Poetry…
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Poetry Wire: Remembering Jake Adam York, 1972-2012
The Rumpus mourns the passing of Jake Adam York. We have here collected together some tributes and memories from his friends and fellow writers. We send our condolences to Jake’s friends and family.
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“Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations” by David Ferry
David Ferry’s Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations is a necessary book. I was sad when I finished it, and hungry to return and re-read. Still, the phrase “poems and translations” seems unfortunate. In Bewilderment, the two genres – the writing…
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David Biespiel’s Poetry Wire: The Poetry Wars
One of the more mind-blowing get-togethers to take place in the last ten years occurred in Havana, Cuba, when Fidel Castro led a unique international conference that brought together participants in the Cuban missile crisis from the U.S., the former…
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“Bender: New and Selected Poems” by Dean Young
I would be in trouble if I had to choose a favorite Dean Young poem. I remember when I stood in a bookstore reading Elegy on Toy Piano, before I knew or cared anything about contemporary poetry, and I remember…
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David Biespiel’s Poetry Wire: What Is Lyric Poetry?
I know, just by titling this piece — “What Is Lyric Poetry?” — you’re thinking, no, you’re not. You’re not. You’re not going to do this. Yup. Doing it. Sort of. What follows is less “What Is Lyric Poetry?” and…
