A recently posted article by Austen Rosenfeld, “Why Billy Collins is America’s Most Popular Poet,” points out pertinent thoughts about poetry today. Mainly, has academia hijacked the art of poetry or is it alive and well but mutilated in the public sector? But we’re missing the point. The poetry world has never provided much direction […]
poetry blogs
Posted inArts & Culture
Poem and painting
AS HIGH AS THE GROUND IS LOW She loved a man who had never climbed trees, never been pulled by longing up lanky limbs of aged oaks, nor crowned the neighborhood, nor as wind waved maple hands, nor as sun watched all things pass below unaware. She loved a man who feared tall spires, monuments, […]
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Book signing/talk on local historic homes
This is probably the most interesting and handsome book to come out of central Illinois recently. The author will talk about and read from the book on Sat., Sept. 7, 2 p.m,. at the Vachel Lindsay Home. You’ll want to own this collection about historic homes and the folks who lived in them. From Springfield […]
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Laborless stroll into the holiday
OK. If you’re so busy or brain dead you forgot you get a three-day weekend this weekend (like I did), you need to read this stuff below: Tonight, 7 p.m., at The Pharmacy a jazz show with Lucas Collins from N.Y. on percussion and Albert Wildeman from Chicago on the upright bass and End Times […]
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Podcasts are coming to git ya …
If you’re like me, you’re so busy that joining a book club is a thought you keep kicking out of your thoughts each time it’s thrown back at ya. Whack! (Though joining a book club is something you desperately want to do. But heck, there’s this little thing called writing you want to do more […]
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To boldly go … (geek alert)
“Yeah, shut up Spock!” But seriously folks — I own this movie, How Star Trek Changed the World, that Shatner hosted and I have read about the science experts who worked on the series (some of them here in the film). Visit StarTrek.com for more Star Trek or go here: How Star Trek has changed […]
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You must meet Jackie
Meet Jackie Jackson. If you don’t know her, you should. She has mentored many a writer. Maybe you. She’s written an array of children’s books over the years and tons of interesting and funny stories about growing up on a Wisconsin dairy farm. Since retiring, she has finally sat down and concentrated on getting those big books […]
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Literary ladies of Lincolnland
Mark your calendars to head over to the Vachel Lindsay home tomorrow (Sat.) at 2 p.m. when Nancy Chapin will present Springfield’s Early Literary Societies. Not to harp on one place so much (though haven’t met anyone yet who doesn’t like harp music), but when they’ve got the goods, you can’t help but want some […]
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The poetry of food, farm and friends
Had the pleasure of heading out this weekend on an adventure and attending a Slow Food Springfield luncheon at Prairie Fruits Farm in Champaign. The wind (well, really wheels) carried us east from Springfield to Urbana and kept us cool under the June sun. It was a gorgeous day to see to the goats, pigs, […]
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Famous homes tour in a book
This is the lovely cover of Dan Guillory’s new poetry book titled HousePoems. More than a poetry book, this is an interesting collection of poems, histories (short essays) and photos of central Illinois homes and structures and the folks who inhabited them. There’s also a section on the White House and various presidents and first ladies who […]
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How many poets does it take to pack a parlor?
If you’re a poetry, literature, art, film, history or architecture buff, or someone just looking for a few magical moments in a magical place this weekend, the Vachel Lindsay Home State Historic Site, directly south of the governor’s mansion, hosts Poets in the Parlor at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 15. Poets reading are a handful […]
