Longfellow turns 200

1807 to 2007

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, born February 27, 1807 (died March 24, 1882)

Today Henry Wadsworth Longfellow would have turned 200. As author of Paul Revere’s Ride, Hiawatha, and A Psalm of Life, among his hundreds of other poems and prose works, Longfellow was nationally recognized as the unofficial poet laureate of the United States. His birthday was celebrated as an unofficial national holiday with nation-wide reading of his poetry,parades, and celebrations in his honor.

About Longfellow

To celebrate Longfellow’s 200th birthday, the US Post Office is producing a new stamp (pictured above). The stamp will be available March 1 in all post offices and online

Longfellow is often credited with creating an audience in America for American poetry. Before him, popular poems were usually imported from Europe, especially England. Longfellow did several academic tours of Europe and studied poetry in Germany, among other places. (He was fluent in German, French, Italian, and Spanish). He used his knowledge of language to not only write poetry but to translate a number of important works into English for the first time.

At age 29, he became the Professor of French and Spanish at Harvard University. It was during this professorship at Harvard that he wrote his most famous works.

The Maine Historical Society has put together a wonderful website with biographical information, celebrations, lesson materials for teachers, and poetry online. I highly recommend visiting the website: http://www.hwlongfellow.org/.

For more biographical information on Longfellow, visit the following:

Google Book Downloads

Google’s Book Search has a number of books on Longfellow that can be fully viewed and downloaded. Here are some of my favorites:

Poems

I own the complete collection of Longfellow poem’s, but I still like the more well known works. My favorite poem of his is “A Psalm of Life,” which reads as follows:

The Maine Historical Society has put Longfellow’s complete works online here.

Photographs of Longfellow’s Home at the Library of Congress

Longfellow’s Home in Cambridge, MA from the Library of Congress’ Website

The Library of Congress has put together an archive with photos from Longfellow’s home taken while he was still alive

I have been to his home, which has since been turned into a museum. It is only a few blocks away from Harvard University’s main campus.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Longfellow! And, thank you.

Feb 27, 2007 | Poetry | Leave A Comment »

Is poetry dead? or Should the masses like poetry?

Bernini’s depiction of Apollo, the god of poetry, chasing Daphne. Likewise, critics of the Poetry Foundation say it’s chasing the wrong thing: money.

This week, the New Yorker Magazine publishes an article on the recent gift of $200 million to the Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry Magazine. The gift raises questions about the role of money in an industry–if I can call it that–unaccustomed to having a lot of money.

The article by Dana Goodyear centers around the values of two groups: academic poets (e.g. professors, critics, small presses, and graduate students of poetry) and populist poets (i.e. those who want poetry to return to the mainstream).

Populist poets (my term) think that poetry is dying in obscurity; that modernism has killed the poet and society’s stomach for poetry. They want to hearken back to the days when Longfellow’s birthday was an unofficial national holiday and Emerson was memorized by school children.

The academic poets (again, my term) believe that commercialization of poetry will crush integrity and sophistication.

The Poetry Foundation has responded by posting a website with arguments for and against each side. From the website:

In a recent article on the Poetry Foundation, The New Yorker lobs the latest volley in an ongoing intellectual debate. That is, who reads poetry, what does it mean to “understand” poetry, and who cares about poets? According to The New Yorker (or to the critics it quotes), the Poetry Foundation’s mission to broaden the audience for poetry is a lamentable one, for with popularity comes mediocrity. Artists should worry about making art, not about who’s looking at it. A position similar to The New Yorker’s was put forth by August Kleinzahler in the April 2004 issue of Poetry, when he and Dana Gioia faced off over Garrison Keillor’s populist anthology, Good Poems. More recently John Barr’s article calling for a “new American poetry” that speaks to a broader audience fomented debate in the academic and creative writing world. And, in Christian Wiman’s editorial in the December 2006 issue of Poetry, he argues that “if we honored its rarity more, poetry’s invisibility would be less of a problem, or at least we might define the notion of visibility differently.” . . .

Here are a few links in the chain of this argument, which, by its very persistence, is evidence that poetry is not dead.

(Below, I have copied the links directly from their website.)

• Read August Kleinzahler’s article from the April 2004 issue of Poetry>>
• Read Dana Gioia’s article from the April 2004 issue of Poetry>>
• Read John Barr’s essay>>
• Read Christian Wiman’s editorial from the December 2006 issue of Poetry>>
• Read Helen Vendler’s “The Closet Reader”>>
• Read Bill Knott on whether institutionalized “creative writing” changed American literature>>
• Read Adrienne Rich’s “Poetry and Commitment”>>
• Read Jane Hirshfield on “Poetry Beyond the Classroom”>>
• Read Daniel Halpern and Langdon Hammer on William Logan’s review of Hart Crane’s Complete Poems and Selected Letters>>
• Read Jorie Graham’s “Introduction to the Best American Poetry“>>

My perspective

As I read the article, I found myself wondering if academic film studies professors and students would make the argument to steer film into a non-commercial realm. Do they feel that commercialization of film stifles the medium’s integrity? Of course it does, if you only look at the Hollywood hits. But, at the same time, an argument could be made that the commercial side of film is the biggest support for independent film. Many studios, such as Warner Brothers, use their profits from commercially successful films to support independent producers and directors. Could the same happen for poets?

Feb 15, 2007 | Poetry | 2 Comments »

Does your State have a Poet Laureate?

Many of us have heard of national Poet Laureates like Donald Hall (current), Billy Collins, or Ted Kooser. The position was created by Congress in 1937, and the National Poet Laureate is chosen by the Librarian of Congress.

The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress serves as the nation’s official lightning rod for the poetic impulse of Americans. During his or her term, the Poet Laureate seeks to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of poetry.

(Quoted from the Library of Congress: “About the Position”)

You may not have known that most States have their own poet laureates. The exceptions are surprising:

• Arizona
• Hawaii
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Missouri
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Washington

Below is a list, compiled by the Library of Congress, with links to each State’s poet laureate, including biographical information, term length, and examples of writing.

State	Laureate
Alabama	Sue Walker
Alaska	Jerah Chadwick
Arizona	No position
Arkansas	Peggy Vining
California	Al Young
Colorado	Mary Crow
Connecticut	Marilyn Nelson
Delaware	Fleda Brown
Florida	Edmund Skellings
Georgia	David Bottoms
Hawaii	No position
Idaho	Kim Barnes
Illinois	Kevin Stein
Indiana	Unofficial: Carol Ogdon Floyd Official: Joyce Brinkman
Iowa	Robert Dana
Kansas	Jonathan Holden
Kentucky	Sena Jeter Naslund
Louisiana	Brenda Marie Osbey
Maine	Betsy Sholl
Maryland	Michael S. Glaser
Massachusetts	No position
Michigan	No position
Minnesota	Vacant
Mississippi	Winifred Hamrick Farrar
Missouri	No position
Montana	Sandra Alcosser
Nebraska	William Kloefkorn
Nevada	Norman Kaye
New Hampshire	Patricia Fargnoli
New Jersey	No position
New Mexico	No position
New York	Billy Collins
North Carolina	Kathryn Stripling Byer
North Dakota	Larry Woiwode
Ohio	No position
Oklahoma	Francine Ringold
Oregon	Lawson Fusao Inada
Pennsylvania	No Position
Rhode Island	Tom Chandler
South Carolina	Marjory Heath Wentworth
South Dakota	David Allan Evans
Tennessee	Margaret Britton Vaughn
Texas	Alan Birkelbach
Utah	Katharine Coles
Vermont	Grace Paley
Virginia	Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda
Washington	No position
West Virginia	Irene McKinney
Wisconsin	Denise Sweet
Wyoming	David Romtvedt

Dec 10, 2006 | Poetry | Leave A Comment »

Poem: The Last Trip to the Island by Erin Belieu

From Poetry Daily:

Last Trip to the Island

You’re mad that I can’t love the ocean,

but I’ve come to this world landlocked
and some bodies feel permanently strange.
Like any foreign language, study it too late and
it never sticks. Anyway,

we’re here aren’t we? —
trudging up the sand, the water churning
its constant horny noise, an openmouthed heavy

breathing made more unnerving by
the presence of all these families, the toddlers

with their chapped bottoms, the fathers
in gigantic trunks spreading out their dopey
circus-colored gear.

How can anyone relax
near something so worked up all the time?

I know the ocean is glamorous,
but the hypnosis, the dilated pull of it, feels

impossible to resist. And what better reason to
resist? I’m most comfortable in

a field, a yellow-eared patch
of cereal, whose quiet rustling argues for
the underrated valor of discretion.

And above this, I admire a certain quality of
sky, like an older woman who wears her jewels with
an air of distance, that is, lightly,
with the right attitude. Unlike your ocean,

there’s nothing sneaky about a field. I like their
ugly-girl frankness. I like that, sitting in the dirt,

I can hear what’s coming between the stalks.

Erin Belieu
Black Box
Copper Canyon Press

Nov 16, 2006 | Poetry | 1 Comment »

Animated Poetry by Billy Collins and Juan Delcan on YouTube

While doing a search for possible recordings of reading by former US Poet Laureate Billy Collins, I found the two animated vidoes of his work on YouTube.com.

The two poems, “The Dead” and “Forgetfulness” are by Collins. The animation is by Juan Delcan of JWTwo Entertainment.

“The Dead” by Billy Collins

Oct 21, 2006 | Poetry | Leave A Comment »

Poems.com Daily: Read great contemporary poetry

Each day, I visit Poetry Daily. The editors of the online magazine scan dozens of poetry journals and post a single poem each day. I haven’t found a pattern for what they choose. In fact, poems can vary widely from day to day–some are very long, some use traditional form, others are Dada. Today’s poem is one of my favorites so far:

A Strange Disorder

A strange disorder rules the house
where lately slender method scared
papers into files neat as hedgerows
and caution laid its dropcloth everywhere.
Now books lie slaughtered on the rug,
the telephone rings, old letters dune
among bills and maps and coffee spoons
in a room spontaneous as a compost heap
where you work the oracle of my thoughts
and haunt the prison of my sleep.

Diane Ackerman
The Massachusetts Review
Special Issue: The Messy Self
Guest Editor: Jennifer Rosner
Volume XLVII, Number 2
Summer 2006

Aug 29, 2006 | Poetry | Leave A Comment »

US Poet Laureate Donald Hall

Donald Hall is the current US Poet Laureate. He has perhaps the most impressive resume of any poet in the US today. (While preparing to study at Oxford, TS Eliot, he said, gave him the advice to “bring warm socks.”)

Currently I am reading his book Without. It is a collection of poems written about his wife, Jane Kenyon, during her treatment for cancer and the absence following her death. It is a heavy, cathartic read. A poem from page 42 of the book:

If you’d like to get to know more about him and watch a video, here is a post to a 35 minute reading he gave that was sponsored and posted by the US Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/hall.html

Aug 21, 2006 | Poetry | Leave A Comment »

Every Autodidact’s Dream: World Lecture Hall

Their website says it best:

“ Welcome to World Lecture Hall, your entry point to free online course materials from around the world. Please browse, search, learn and enjoy.”

Enjoy!? I typed in “art history” and got the following results (the beginning of 30 pages worth of the same):

	Frontier Heritage Tom Bacig | University of Minnesota at Duluth | May, 2000
	History and heritage of the North American frontier in music, art, literature and film.
	Design and Persuasion Miodrag Mitrasinovic | University of Texas at Austin | May, 2000
	Semiotics of design.
	Design and Persuasion Miodrag Mitrasinovic | University of Texas at Austin | May, 2000
	Semiotics of design.
	Art History Survey I Marleen Hoover | San Antonio College | November, 2001
	Art History Survey I explores art from its beginnings in the Paleolithic era to the early Gothic era. Non-western art is thoroughly integrated into this course, completely delivered over the Internet.
	Western Art Since 1500 Andrea Pappas | University of Southern California | December, 2001
	Painting, sculpture, architecture and photography in Europe and the United States from the Counter-Reformation to the present. Freshman-level.

It allows for searching in various language and by type of media (e.g. audio, video, lecture notes, assignments).

I’m smitten.

Aug 18, 2006 | Art, Baroque, Classical, Historical, Impressionism, Jazz, Music, Opera, Poetry, Ramblings/Ideas | Leave A Comment »

Billy Collins: An Evening with the US Poet Laureate

Billy Collins has been described as the modern-day Robert Frost. He is very funny, and very thoughtful. He served as the US Poet Laureate from 2001 to 2003, and is currently serving as the Poet Laureate of New York State, where he lives as has taught poetry for decades.

Aug 04, 2006 | Poetry | Leave A Comment »

Oh me! Oh Life! by Walt Whitman

Oh Me! Oh Life!

Oh me! O life! of the questions of these recurring,
Of the endless traines of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the
foolish,
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish
than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the
struggle ever renew’d
Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I
see around me,
Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me
intertwined,
The question, O me! so sad, recurring–What good amid these,
O me, O life?

Answer.

That you are here–that life exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

by Walt Whitman

You may remember this poem from the movie the Dead Poets Society. In my opinion, it deserves to be read in its entirety. This poem comes to my mind often.

If you want to read a great book about Walt Whitman, look into The Better Angel by Roy Morris, Jr. It chronicles his work in the tent hospitals of Civil War Washington, DC. Had he lived today, I believe he would have been nominated for major humanitarian awards.

Aug 03, 2006 | Poetry | Leave A Comment »