Just when you thought there was enough about Larry Levis!

There's more....

HERE

all this AND Phillip Levine?? Gotta love this, seriously.

Mark your calendars NOW!

2010 Levis prize winner announced by VCU

Check HERE for the details-

Some past winners are listed HERE

It's not major money but these winners have been exceptional poets in the past (with one exception IMO, but that's just IMO)

I have not read the winning book but have his first book and it is quite good.

show me the poetry in sausage biscuits

oh, can you tell me Hardee's (if that's your real name)?

Maybe it's not poetry without gravy-

Best Hour I've Spent in a Long Time

Incredibly inspiring...trust me, stick with it to the end...


Chuck Palahniuk from Grub Street on Vimeo.

Kids and Words at Chop Suey- last chance to sign up!

I'm not sure there are any slots left, but if you're kid is creative and not good with the heat- this is a real great opportunity-

Richmond Young Writers is a great program with exciting and interesting leaders to run your smart kid through all manner of word related activities.

Not to mention the poetry lady is very cool.

Summer Sessions 2010


Summer sessions run Monday-Friday from 2-5 pm at Chop Suey Bookstore in Carytown. Young writers will have the opportunity to explore the craft and fun of creative writing through a variety of imagination-stimulating prompts, journaling, people-watching and more.

Special workshops with professional writers will be held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3-5 pm. Each week will culminate in a reading of student works-in-progress at the Byrd Theatre at 4:30 pm on Friday afternoon.

Session 1, Ages 10-14 June 21- June 25
Character (Slash Coleman) ** Surrealism (Mike Dulin) ** Poetry (Shann Palmer)


Session 2, Ages 10-14 June 28-July 2
Journalism (Chris Dovi) ** Zine Making 101 (Liz Canfield) ** Fiction (Michele Young-Stone)


Session 3, Ages 10-14 July 5- July 9
Character (Slash Coleman) ** Poetry (Shann Palmer) ** Journalism (Chris Dovi)


Session 4, Ages 14-17 July 12- July 16
Fiction (Michele Young-Stone) ** Surrealism (Mike Dulin) ** Zine Making 101 (Liz Canfield)

Poetry at the Norge Library

June 3, Saturday 11 am

Guy Terrell, Shann Palmer, Carolyn Foronda, Henry Hart, Ed Lull

Reading their original work

Norge Library, Williamsburg

No job at Dominion Power if your daddy works there- oh no!

seems my son can't be hired at Dominion (Va Power) cause his dad works there- wish they'd mentioned that before his very promising interview yesterday

(the boss above the boss decreed it so - even though they would not be working together)

Did you know there are people reading your meter part-time *no benefits* who barely speak English but a collage grad who desperately needs a job can't get one because he's family?

Did you know the agency who is working on filling these positions (part-time) did not know this?

My son needs a job. Anybody?

Hopper and Kipling

isn't the internet great? The things we can revisit!



I've been told Kipling is out of favor but this is a poem I grew up with- I always was annoyed it was addressed to a son, not a daughter- times change.

Disappearing book (from Ron Silliman)

disappearing book no. 1 from disappearing books on Vimeo.

Dead Poets Live at the Poe Museum Thursday 7:00pm

Dead Poets Live

Sponsored by the Dead Poets Society of America
& The Poetry Society of Virginia

May 20, 2010
7:00 P.M.

Poe Museum, 1914 East Main Street, Richmond, VA

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome
Chris Semtner, Curator, Poe Museum

Opening Comments

Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda, Former Poet Laureate of Virginia, 2006-2008

Readings

Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda . . . . ... . . Anne Spencer

Hollis E. Pruitt . . . . . . . Andrew Jackson Andrews

Nancy Powell . . .. . . . .  . Margaret Junkin Preston

Ann Shalaski . . . .. . . .  . . . George Palmer Garrett

Edward Lull . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . Joseph F. Awad

Shann Palmer . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . Bess Gresham

David Wojahn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Larry Levis

Ron Smith . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . Edgar Allan Poe

Closing Comments & Announcement of the Photo / Video Contest

Walter Skold, poet and founder of the Dead Poets Society of America

Refreshments, courtesy of The Poetry Society of Virginia

The Dead Poets Society of America and The Poetry Society of Virginia are grateful

to the Poe Museum for hosting this event.

The new Martin's at Dumbarton Square (and all of them really)

No one asked me (well, actually, the store manager did ask me while I was there and I intend to send this to him) but here are my thoughts on the new “Martin’s” at Dumbarton Square.


Good things - mostly the same great people, friendly as usual and busy trying to find things that had been moved - think of a friend who moves into your house with all their stuff and you can’t find your keys- though everything was really sparkled up, it felt and looked clean. Double coupons every day is nice. This store will close at 10pm- Good call!!!

Uncomfortable things- beer and wine jammed into a very small store, in fact EVERYTHING was jammed in, as if someone forgot to note this is a small store and doesn’t need to have all the items other stores carry. The shelves are crushed with product- it’s not that easy to remove a can or box without knocking things off (I did, twice). Also, everything is piled too high- frankly, all I could think of was “an embarrassment of riches.” In contrast, the meat section is a flat landscape displayed so you have to leer over the bins to see what’s there- and it’s all crammed in, too.

on that note- all those guys in white shirts standing around watching things and talking about the shoppers and stuff- go home- there are capable people in this store who know how to do their jobs.

Sad things - all the ‘cheap’ looking packaging- sorry, GIANT- your logo looks dated (so does the Martin font). I felt like I was in a Dollar Store. There are also so many new brands the variety of sizes is not available, and I guess crammed up so they can get the beer & wine in. I wish someone had done local research to see what works here- it’s not a big city, we have room to spread out a little. A LOT of the new clerks looked uncomfortable. I’m glad for their jobs, though.

Bad things - The hang tags under products are very misleading- at least twice I had to explain to some older shoppers the bottom price is what you SAVE- not what the item costs. Yes, it says so, but it’s difficult to tell, particularly if your vision is not perfect. Believe me, clearer info will help- I’ve stood in line at this store behind an old person arguing over ten cents. The tags don't cleary indicate what is and what isn't on sale- some say 'new price'- huh? It's a new store, all the prices are new.In addition the stores are junked up with displays and freestanding products (I mentioned this on the UkropsInsider survey I sent in). It makes it difficult to negotiate a basket.

Disappointing things - The prices. Sorry. Overall they are not that good- I know my prices and I am a careful shopper- you can fool some of the people but not me (most of the time). I won’t slip over to Kroger (none close) or Food Lion (Yuck) but some of the produce prices in particular make Whole Foods look pretty good. In fact, considering the current emphasis on health and good eating, the produce selection seemed a little wanting. It may be there is more content there but the section is sprinkled with packaged crap- and the vegan/vegetarian selections are tough to locate.

Yes, I will still shop there, I’m loyal and it’s close. I like the people- particularly the deli folks (where prices are a little better). I do hope things shake out and upper management listens to the locals. If they don’t, it’ll just be another big chain full of scuzzy people who don’t care (no matter what they say) selling us stuff we don’t want or need.

In the meantime, there's always farmer’s markets and places like Nadolski’s Butcher Shop in Goochland. Oh yeah, and Whole Foods.

Maybe I’m the dinosaur- but I don’t think so.

Poetry Festival in Williamsburg this weekend!!

Interesting people will be there- including myself, of course/

For more info, go to the Poetry Society of Virginia website.

Sofia Starnes and Eric Pankey will be doing workshops and readings, and many others!

It's probably too late to get meals but it doesn't hurt to email and ask- but the sessions are open to all.

Everybody ought to have a maid...

I knew it. This is my problem, frankly. I really need someone else to take care of me and my stuff so I can write.

And now I have proof...

I write a poem-a-day in April and my house is a mess. And now I have a full week's work and will not be home at all much until next Monday.

So my poetry will suffer!

Ah- maybe that's a good thing- it's not like it matters.

Raise money for Doctors Without Borders and hear great music!!!

http://www.icgr.org/power-of-music-2010-flyer.pdf

Thursday Night
7pm

Be there!!!

A Pulitzer in poetry!! And she's in Richmond Wednesday

Reading at UR Wednesday night!!

http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2010-Poetry

Awarded to “Versed,” by Rae Armantrout (Wesleyan University Press), a book striking for its wit and linguistic inventiveness, offering poems that are often little thought-bombs detonating in the mind long after the first reading.

April is National Poetry Month!

and I have been writing a poem-a-day for the past eight years during this month.

Many of them have been revised (later) and been published.

You can support my efforts by pledging to The American Academy of Poets, where my poem/drafts will be posted for the month (then removed in May).

Money raised is used for education and events.

Poet Kathleen Graber reads First Friday at the Richmond Public Library!

Brodie Herndon Poetry Series
7:00 pm

Join the Friends of the Library for the 2010 Brodie Herndon Poetry lectur at 7:00 pm on Friday, April 2. The program will be held in the Davenport Special Collections Room, lower level of the Main Library.

Kathleen Graber, author of Correspondence, and winner of the 2005 Saturnalia Books Poetry Prize is the 2010 speaker. A recipient of the Hodder Fellowship at Princeton (2007) and the Amy Lowell Travelling Scholarship (2008), Ms. Graber is an assistant professor of English in the Creative Writing Program at Virginia Commonwealth University. A second collection of poetry, The Eternal City, is forthcoming.

April is National Poetry Month

I have created a google grooup (by invitation only) to post a poem-a-day.

If you are interested-

2010 National Poetry Month Poems

Visit this group

I will send you five mini-poetry books for $5.

I will send you five mini-poetry books for $5.

What an interesting site this is...

guess we'll see if anyone bites.

A poet dies, a poem lives

posting from Avoiding the Muse

CONVERSATION


We smile at each other
and I lean back against the wicker couch.
How does it feel to be dead? I say.
You touch my knees with your blue fingers.
And when you open your mouth,
a ball of yellow light falls to the floor
and burns a hole through it.
Don't tell me, I say. I don't want to hear.
Did you ever, you start,
wear a certain kind of dress
and just by accident,
so inconsequential you barely notice it,
your fingers graze that dress
and you hear the sound of a knife cutting paper,
you see it too
and you realize how that image
is simply the extension of another image,
that your own life
is a chain of words
that one day will snap.
Words, you say, young girls in a circle, holding hands,
and beginning to rise heavenward
in their confirmation dresses,
like white helium balloons,
the wreathes of flowers on their heads spinning,
and above all that,
that's where I'm floating,
and that's what it's like
only ten times clearer,
ten times more horrible.
Could anyone alive survive it?

--Ai (October 21, 1947 – March 20, 2010)

and another poet survives, facing death for her words