"How to disassemble / the sorrow of beginnings"

August 23, 2023

Beginnings

Read poems considering dawn, creation, and beginnings:

“The Luzumiyat of Abu’l-Ala, CXIX” by Al-Ma‘arri, translated by Ameen Rihani
“The Seedling” by Paul Laurence Dunbar
“Origin of Planets” by Jennifer Foerster
“Remember ” by Joy Harjo
“Hello” by Sean Hill
“Ahead and Around” by Laura Riding Jackson
“Let Me Begin Again” by Major Jackson
“Each year” by Dora Malech
“Move” by Alicia Ostriker
“Morning Song” by Sylvia Plath
“in our chant of the creation of the world” by leilani portillo
“Beginnings” by Mahtem Shiferraw
“Seed of Mango, Seed of Maize” by Lynne Thompson

Victoria Redel on Her Poetic Beginnings

Revisit Poets Forum 2014 panel discussions on contemporary poetry. In this video, Victoria Redel discusses how and when her poems begin and what sparks the inspiration needed to write.

“Boykin, a teacher in Richland County, will create a debate/poetry slam program for teenagers that will culminate in a poetry festival in Columbia in 2024.

‘We’ll celebrate poetry. It’s going to be intergenerational so we welcome everyone of all ages, of all races, abilities […]. Just come on out.’”

—Jennifer Bartell Boykin, 2023 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow (Columbia, South Carolina)

Read more about Boykin and her fellowship project here.

“When one is assembling the book, one is really just trying to hold oneself together. And I often find myself feeling like I have to take an account of who I’ve been as a thinker and a writer for three years or so. It’s a real collisional experience for me.” —Divya Victor, in conversation with Asian American Writers’ Workshop.

Victor, this month’s Poem-a-Day Guest Editor, is the author of Curb (Nightboat Books, 2021), winner of the 2022 PEN/Open Book Award and the winner of the 2022 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. The collection was also a finalist for the 2022 CLMP Firecracker Award for Poetry. Read and listen to a Q&A with Victor about her Poem-a-Day curatorial approach on Poets.org, and the full 2021 interview with AAWW.

more at poets.org

Watch Yanyi read Linda Gregg’s poem “We Manage Most When We Manage Small” as part of the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation’s Read By series of poetry films.

#PoetryNearYou Pick of the Week

The Brooklyn Poets Reading Series presents Chancellor Emeritus Terrance Hayes, Noah Arhm Choi, and Rio Cortez on Friday, August 25, at 6:30 p.m. at Brooklyn Poets (144 Montague St., Brooklyn, New York 11201) and live streamed via Zoom (closed captions available). Register for free here.

more at poets.org

2024 First Book Award

Manuscript submissions for the 2024 Academy of American Poets First Book Award, judged by Victoria Chang, will be accepted online until September 1, 2023. The winner of the First Book Award will receive $5,000, publication by Graywolf Press, a six-week residency at the Civitella Ranieri Center in Umbria, Italy, and distribution of their winning book to thousands of Academy members.

more at poets.org

The Strand Bookstore on Columbus Avenue in New York City is seeking a full-time children’s department bookseller. To apply, send a resume to careers@strandbooks.com.
826 Boston is seeking a full-time writers’ room manager at the Boston Teachers Union School.
Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, is seeking a full-time, tenure track assistant professor of English with a specialization in medieval literature.

Revisit last week’s Poem-a-Day selections with us on Poets.org:

August 13: “Moon Tonight” by Gwendolyn Bennett
August 14: “Ode to Donor Gametes” by Robin Silbergleid
August 15: “Pottu / Dot” by Shivram Gopinath
August 16: “Garden Variety with Lesbians” by Serena Chopra
August 17: “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Carlos Soto-Román
August 18: “Minotaur” by Douglas Kearney
August 19: “Theodore the Poet” by Edgar Lee Masters

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"How to disassemble / the sorrow of beginnings"

Victoria Redel on Her Poetic Beginnings

Older messages

"Three of Cups" by Gabrielle Civil

"Agnes, a sleep" by Hannah Ensor

"Syrinx Spring" by Jennifer Scappettone

"The Humming-Bird" by Beatrice Ravenel

"Theodore the Poet" by Edgar Lee Masters

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