Activist Writing

It's an exciting time to be a political poet. Many writers resistance groups are forming. My friend Coolia sent me information about Writers Resist Event, taking place in Los Angeles on January 15 at Beyond Baroque in Venice.

The Trenchant is Poetic: Notes on “Washing Palms” (North American Review)

Sita Considers Her Rebellions (Guernica)

3 poems by Vanessa Angelica Villarrea (The Feminist Wire)

Lynne Thompson reads her poem, "More than a Rhythm Section" (YouTube)

Reading Yeats in the Age of Trump (Boston Review) 

What poets can help us get through a Trump administration? (The Guardian)

Poet Delivers Powerful Piece On Kanye West (The Huffington Post)

Famous Poets

Why Bob Dylan is a Literary Genius (Rolling Stone) – I had had high hopes for this article because came from Rolling Stone and possibly might contain some eloquent journalism. Unfortunately there is nothing here that makes an academic case for Dylan, (where I think one could easily be made), nothing to bridge the gap between literary and song analysis, nothing to convince the picked-over literati that the Dylan award of the Nobel Prize for Literature wasn’t a crime. The forward for Hollywood Foto-Rhetoric: The Lost Manuscript, poems and photos about Los Angeles by Bob Dylan and photographer Barry Feinstein actually does a very good introduction written by Billy Collins, (who of course agrees with the Nobel committee decision) which makes the good arguments we're lacking in this piece.

Why Poetry (The New York Times)

Reviews of the new Neruda movie: NPR and The Los Angeles Times

How to Become a Poet (NPR)