NYPL Blogs: Poetry Month

Booktalking "A Light in the Attic" by Shel Silverstein

Miranda J. McDermott, Grand Concourse — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 08:36:43 -0400

Shel Silverstein's poems are humorous; no one can deny this.

In "How Not to Have to Dry the Dishes," kids learn how to avoid this onerous chore. Silverstein's advice? Drop one onto the floor. The illustration includes a huge dish that is covering a girl's entire body.

The poem about babysitter, "The Sitter" is quite unexpected.

Mrs. McTwitter the baby-sitter

I think she's a little bit crazy.

She thinks a baby-sitter's supposed

To sit upon the baby.

"Rock N' Roll Band" is about all of the things you do in a rock band: wear spangly things, be cheered by a crowd, sign autographs, have long hair, and simply enjoy the fame.

Librarians and bibliophiles everywhere will love the poem: "Blame." A goat ate the book that I wrote for you, so I wrote another one. If you do not like it, it is the goat's fault. There is an illustration of a goat seated in front of a book with a bite taken out of it, looking so happy.

"Snake problem." There is one word for this poem: priceless.

It's not that I don't care for snakes

But oh what do you do

When a 24-foot python says...

I love you?

"Bear in There" is about a polar bear who likes to be in the Frigidaire because it is cold.

He's nibbling the noodles

He's munching the rice

He's slurping the soda.

He's licking the ice.

"Overdues" is about a library book that is 42 years overdue and the elderly borrower cannot pay the fine. The old man is illustrated clutching a library book to his chest, looking anxious and stressed-out.

"Tired" is about working hard, not having enough time to accomplish what you want to, supervising the work of arts, catching your own food, and breathing—exhausting!

"Little Abigail and the Beautiful Pony" is a tale true to my own heart. I totally know what this poem is about because I was horse-crazy as a kid, and I still am.

And her parents said,

"Well, you can't have a pony

But you can have a nice butter pecan

Ice cream cone when we get home."

Well, young Abigail DID die of a broken heart when her parents did not buy her a pony. This is a cautionary tale to parents everywhere who deny their kids what they desire.

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein, 1974

I was introduced to the work of Shel Silverstein by my mother when I was a kid because she was such a big fan of his. When I showed the kids in the summer camp his books last year, they were enthralled. I opened the book and flipped through the pages, and the kids told me which poems they would like me to read based on the illustrations, which Shel Silverstein drew. They immediately became excited and happy about the poetry, and it was great to see kids get engaged with literature.

Booktalking "Cat Poems" by Dave Crawley

Miranda J. McDermott, Grand Concourse — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 07:06:01 -0400

I love the cat breed illustrations on the inside of the front and back covers of this book. All of the cats look so happy! The book is full of poems that indicate the nature of cats, and anyone who has experience with cats or who has lived with cats knows exactly what Crawley is talking about in these cat poems.

In the poem "Brand X," a cat was acting for a commercial for cat food. Wouldn't you know it? When asked to choose between the brand the manufacturers were selling and the "other brand," the independent-thinking cat chose the "other brand!" I do not know how much name-brand cat food that cat will sell!

In the poem "Sleeper," readers see cats sleeping in multiple locations in almost any position (they are so flexible!) Cats sleep sixteen hours a day: twice as much as human beings! No wonder they seem lazy to us. They are not lazy; they are simply predators, and they can afford to sleep so much in the wild because not many animals are hunting them. However, prey animals such as horses sleep very little since they need to keep alert to avoid being eaten; horses sleep only two hours per day.

The poem "Grocery Store Cat" delighted me. I am always amazed by the laid-back city cats that seem so at ease amongst strangers in the city streets. Once, on my way to work, I saw a beautiful long-haired gray kitten who was so friendly that she let me pet her! Adorable!

The poem "Seventeen Cats" is about a cat-loving boy. Honestly, everyone was calling me a cat lady when I had seven cats (but it was really more like four cats and a few fur balls). I was simply cat sitting for a feline family until the kittens stopped nursing and I could find them homes. It was definitely a lot of work to take care of them... but fun, too!

Cat Poems by Dave Crawley, 2005

Check it out: YA Novels in Verse!

Lindsy Serrano, Mulberry Street Branch Library — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:34:35 -0400

I can't say that I've always been the biggest poetry fan. But lately I've been getting into novels in verse, which have been popping up all over the YA Fiction scene for awhile now. Ellen Hopkins is the queen of this and if you've never read her work before, do yourself a favor and check out Crank as soon as possible. You will be hooked... freaked out... and hooked.

I made a book list of my top ten favorite books in verse. They range from angsty love stories to harrowing stories of teens in abusive situations. One of the newest books on this list is The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist by Margarita Engle. It is the true story of Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda, a Cuban revoluntionary and feminist writer who spent her life fighting injustices in turn of the century Cuba. Take a look and check out a poetry book today!

Poesía para cada día

Alexandra Gomez, Central Collection Development — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:53:27 -0400

Abril es el Mes Nacional de la Poesia. Te invito a celebrar con poesías, escogidas al azar, para adornar tu día, y llevar a cualquier lugar...

¿Que es la poesía?

¿Es acaso poesía el arte de expresar lo que se siente- con palabras elocuentes?

¿O es espejo del sentimiento emotivo- que se refleja a la luz del pensamiento reflexivo?

¿Es poesía el arte de rimar la expresión - del momento de inspiración— al ritmo del corazón?

¿Qué es poesía?

¿Qué es poesía? — dices mientras clavas
en mi pupila tu pupila azul.
¿Qué es poesía? ¿Y tú me lo preguntas?
Poesía... eres tú.
—Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836-1870)

La siguiente lista ofrece una breve seleccion de obras poéticas escritas por destacados poetas y también, incluye recopilaciones por distinguidos autores internacionales. De cualquier forma que interpretemos la poesía, estas obras poéticas nos transportarán a un viaje alrededor del mundo desde el pasado hasta el presente para encontrar la respuesta.

100 poemas
Rafael Alberti

"Lágrimas en tu pañuelo. Mira cómo sube al cielo."

Antología poética
Gerardo Diego

"El poeta más grande del mundo — es el aburrimiento,
y el novelista más profundo — el viento."

Antología poética
Juan Perucho

"A los prados de la primavera — para coger violetas he venido;
he encontrado tan dulces los prados que en ellos, cuando llegue la noche, dormiré."

Cántico (1936)
Jorge Guillén

"¡Tres, cuatro, cinco, siete! Una mano de Hacedor.
Supremo palpa el Billete. Con júbilo creador."

De corazon a corazon Helen Steiner Rice Palabras de aliento e inspiración en verso. The FSG Book of Twentieth-century Latin American Poetry: An Anthology Ochenta hasta cuatro autores españoles, portugueses, el ladino, el spanglish, y varias lenguas indígenas, también traducciones al inglés presentan una variedad de poemas latinoamericanos del siglo veinte.

El cisne en la sombra: Antología de poesía modernista

" — y en la oscura lejanía se escuchó una sinfonía — desparramada en mil notas:
eran las primeras gotas…llovía."

En verso y prosa: antología
Gabriela Mistral

"Doña Primavera — de manos gloriosas, haz que por la vida — derramemos rosas."

Gran antología de la poesía amorosa hispanoamericana: Poemas del corazón para decir te quiero

"Sabe, así toda la gente — todo lo que a mi me pasa:
tú estás conmigo si vuelan — palomas sobre mi casa."

La realidad y el deseo (1924-1962) Cernuda, Luis ¿Y mi vida? Dime, mi vida, ¿Qué es, si no eres tú?

Matar a Platón; seguido de Escribir
Chantal Maillard

"¿Es poesía el verso que describe fríamente aquello que acontece?
Pero ¿qué es lo que acontece?"

Mujeres poetas enamoradas

"…amores- halagaron el alma adormecida,
y la ilusión su manto de colores — tendió en el horizonte de mi vida."

Poesía colonial hispanoamericana, siglos XVI y XVII

"¡Qué dulzura tan grande en primavera, embebecida verla en pensamientos,
un cerco al oro crespo entretejiendo!"

Plegarias al vacío César F. Peralta Lantigua. Un vista en versos al mundo moderno a través en dos etapas: antes y después el 2000. Prostíbulo de la palabra: Brothel of the word Benito Pastoriza Iyodo Poemarios bilingües que abordan la perspectiva física, lingüística y espiritual para explorar cuestiones que afectan a la humanidad. Un beso nada más y otros poemas de amor
Una selección de poemas por varios destacados poetas hispanos. “Con un CD para escuchar, soñar y enamorarte”-Cubierta

Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada: y, Cien sonetos de amor
Pablo Neruda

"Pero se van tiñendo — con tu amor mis palabras.
Todo lo ocupas tu, todo lo ocupas."

Witness: The Selected Poems of Mario Benedetti Mario Benedetti Poemas en ingles y español que transmiten la musicalidad, nostalgia e ironía que categorizan la obras del gran Benedetti.

Y también poemas
Roberto Gómez Bolaños

"Si para soñar un sueño — preciso ser soñador,
soñaré con el ensueño — de soñar sueño de amor."

E-stories, masqueletras, y El Alma latina son algunos portales interactivos que nos dan la oportunidad de compartir obras poéticas.

Algunas de estas y otras obras también pueden estar disponibles en diferentes formatos. Para más información sírvase comunicarse con el bibliotecario de su biblioteca local. También puede seguirnos por ¡Twitter!

Para información sobre eventos favor de visitar: Eventos en Español

Especial agradecimiento a los Bibliotecarios Vilma Alvarez, José Oliveras y Jeanette Rodriguez por su generosa colaboración editorial.

Más Blog en Español

Haiku Redux

Jay Barksdale, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, General Research Division — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 05:50:35 -0500

Fang and I were very, very lucky during the hurricane. We were out of power for only 24 hours, during which I wrote the three haiku below: "On the Advantages of the Absence of Electricity."

Haiku is one of the more accessible poetic forms (have you ever tried writing a sestina?), at least for the likes of me. There are, of course, books galore of and about them, but a short and sweet blog post, with far better H than those of yours truly, was written last year by my most excellent colleague, Sherri Liberman of the Mulberry Branch. Here is another, from the teens of the Grand Central Branch.

Happy Haikuing!

A novel read slow
by candlelight glows richly,
every word burnished.

Youthful neighbor, fit,
cannot play exercise tape.
We say ha ha ha.

III

Schoenberg in the dark:
slow, sepulcral, soft, far-out,
and more beautiful.

Looking for Something Lost: Mark Van Doren in the Village

John Flood, Grand Central Branch Library — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 10:35:36 -0400

Mark Van Doren edited and published An Anthology of World Poetry in 1929. Amazingly, this enabled him to buy the house at 393 Bleecker Street. Van Doren was a poet himself and a playwright and a greatly admired professor at Columbia University.

Mark Van Doren's birthday is June 13.

JSTOR and the Poetry Foundation are collaborating to digitize, preserve, and extend access to Poetry. You can access pageviews of all issues of Poetry magazine going back to 1912.

Here is a poem of his published in the January 1968 issue.

"Looking for Something Lost"

Looking for something lost is mind
And matter playing a game. (read more...)

Before You Become a Poet, Work in a Bar: John Masefield in the Village

John Flood, Grand Central Branch Library — Wed, 30 May 2012 11:30:21 -0400

Before he was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, John Masefield scrubbed floors in a saloon at Greenwich Avenue and Sixth Avenue in the Village.

My guess, that's good training to be a poet or a writer of any kind.

His birthday is June 1.

Here's the first part of one of his poems:

"Sea Fever"

I must go down to the seas again,
to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship
and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song
and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and
a grey dawn breaking

Reclaiming My West Indian Roots, with Poetry

Ann-Marie Nicholson, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:53:14 -0400

As a young girl growing up in Jamaica — and later in Brooklyn, NY — I often heard the poetry of Louise Bennett (Jamaicans affectionately call her "Miss Lou") permeate the air. One of my earliest recollections of Miss Lou’s lyricism was hearing the term mout amassi (big mouth). The term comes from the title of one of her most popular poems about a young lady, Liza, who loves to gossip and chat.

To be called a "mout amassi" was far from a compliment and the nickname could follow one around for a lifetime. Adults used it on adults and children alike. Children used it on each other, often eliciting uncontrollable laughter.

I have more fond memories of how Miss Lou’s poetry reverberated throughout my youth and the many phrases that I—as well as my fellow islanders—eagerly adapted to tease as well as to assert my identity.

Many years removed from my childhood, it would take a long time before I returned to my roots. It wasn’t until I was in grad school getting my master’s in English Literature, with a focus on postcolonial literature, that I ventured beyond the poetry of the Romantics and the Harlem Renaissance. In one of my classes, Caribbean Literature, my professor further exposed me to Anglophone, Francophone, and Hispanaphone writers and poets, like: Derek Walcott, Olive Senior, Kamau Brathwaite, Aimé Césaire, and Reinaldo Arenas. The lyricism of these poets — from varied backgrounds and languages — spoke to me and my cultural identity. I realized, albeit not too late, that the reason these poets resonated with me was because I had never really forgotten my roots — they just needed to be watered and restored.

Below are a few West Indian poets whose works capture and transcend their shared cultural heritage:

Derek Walcott, born in 1930, is from Saint Lucia. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992 for his epic poem, Omeros — based on Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey. Walcott is currently a professor of poetry at the University of Essex.

Kamau Brathwaite was born in Barbados in 1930. He is currently a Professor of Comparative Literature at New York University.

Martin Carter (d. 1997) was a Guyanese poet, whose work came to symbolize post-colonial nationalism.

Grace Nichols was born in Guyana. Grace Nichols lives in England with the poet John Agard and their daughter Kalera. Watch her talk about one of her poems on bbc.co.uk.

John Agard was born in Guyana and currently resides in England.

Olive Senior was born in Jamaica. She currently resides in Toronto, Canada.

Nature Poems for Poetry Month

Melissa Cardinali, Central Collection Development — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:37:52 -0400

In New York City, there is a lot to celebrate during the month of April, National Poetry Month. It feels like poems fill the air as the weather warms, flowers bloom, animals come out of hiding, and, of course, Earth Day arrives! No worries if you missed it yesterday, this post will help you and your children celebrate our Earth (and her fantastic creatures!) with a few recommendations from NYPL's vast collection of poetry for young people.

Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies. Inspire your children to go outside and observe the nature around them with this beautiful collection of 50 poems divided by season.

In the Sea by David Elliot. A recent collection of oceanic poems from the author of In the Wild and On the Farm.

Discover the inner workings of the bee community with Douglas Florian's unBEElievables. Each poem is enhanced by supporting information — almost too good to "bee" true! Florian's Poetrees is a creative introduction to 13 different tree species and their parts.

The Hound Dog's Haiku and Other Poems for Dog Lovers by Michael Rosen. Woodcut illustrations accompany each haiku about a different dog breed.

The Tree that Time Built selected by Mary Ann Hoberman and Linda Winston; illustrated by Barbara Fortin. An anthology from some of our favorite poets which celebrates the natural world, especially the connection among living things. A rich resource with glossary and explanatory notes, great for middle school readers, budding scientists and classroom use.

Newbery Honor artist Joyce Sidman's Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature is a beautiful homage to this curious shape, found many places in nature. Written in free-verse; be sure to check out the endnotes for additional information.

Poetry Writing With Adult New Readers, Strategy 1: The List Poem

Hilary Schenker, Seward Park Library — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:18:07 -0400

You have not crossed the bridges I have crossed.
You have not listened to the music I have listened to.
You have not been in the top of the World Trade Center the way I have been there.
You have not seen the waves I have seen.
You have not fallen from horses the way I have fallen.
You have not felt the guns on your neck the way I have felt them.
You have not been in the sea with a big storm in a little boat the way I have been.

—Excerpt from "Don’t Give Me Advice," by Luis Marin, Tompkins Square CRW

This month is National Poetry Month, and here at the Center for Reading and Writing (CRW) some students are experiencing poetry for the first time. Writing a poem for the first time can be intimidating, but there are many possible ways to get started. In this post I’ll talk about just one of them, which is a list poem.

Defining a Poem

The first step when introducing poetry to students is to define poetry. Show what a poem looks like on a page. Explain that a poem is usually short, and that each line has a fixed length. It uses carefully-chosen language to express a feeling, and sometimes uses rhythm, rhyme, or repetition. One CRW student defined a poem as "few words, big meaning."

Writing a List Poem

A list poem is a poem in which each line begins the same way. List poems are wonderful for beginning writers especially, because the start of each line is provided, creating a comfortable way in (at least I have this part that I can write, and know I’m spelling it correctly). A list poem can be simple and powerful. One student, who struggles with depression, wrote a poem in which each line begins, "I love" followed by one thing that makes her feel happy.

5 Tips for Writing a Successful List Poem:

Read poems together as a group, to get students familiar with the sounds and rhythms of it. After reading a poem, ask if there is any line that students like or find interesting. Ask why they like it, what makes it stand out. Keep your ear open for things students say—does something sound like a list poem? "Every morning I..." "I want to read..." "If I had a million dollars I’d..." "I love the way..." The possibilities are endless.

When students are ready to begin writing, here are some tips to keep in mind:

1. Be specific

Help students bring their poems to life by including specific details. In other words, show, don’t tell. "I wake up early," becomes, "I wake up at 3:00 am every morning to go to work." Instead of "I cook Chinese food" help the student write, "I cook catfish with spicy sauce."

2. Five senses

Can you see this poem? Can you hear it? Smell it? Feel it? Taste it? Is this poem bringing a world to life? If not, think about describing with the five senses.

3. Order

Pay attention to the order of the list. Does it have a beginning? A middle? An end? Does it need an additional line to bring it to a close?

4. Word Choice

Think about word choice. Could another word be more effective? Sometimes beginning writers want to use the word "beautiful," but write "nice" instead because it is easier to spell. Help the writer actualize the poem in her mind.

5. Edit

Don’t be afraid to edit. 'Make it Messy' is a good mantra for first drafts. They should have crossed out parts and additions. Are any items in the list extraneous? Are there unnecessary repetitions? Help students build the confidence to edit themselves.

Happy poetry writing to all! I’ll leave you with this list poem by Joseph, a student at the Tompkins Square CRW. The title is, "She Is Full of Life:"

When she smiles, life comes out of her.
When she walks down the street, she has a smile on her face,
people all around her look at her and see life.
When she comes into a room, she brightens up the room itself.
When people see her, they are also happy to see her smiling.
She makes the day.

A Poem A Day

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 08:01:12 -0400

April is National Poetry Month, and I promised myself to read a poem a day. Some poets of the black experience immediately came to mind: Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Claude McKay, Sonia Sanchez, Audrey Lorde, to name a few. But then I decided to venture unto new territory and immerse myself into recent works.

I selected four great poets — and distinguished scholars training new generations — who published collections in 2010 and 2011. I found history, current events and the future in their works; and grace, beauty, heartache, struggles and joy.

Nikky Finney, a dear friend of the Schomburg Center said it, of course much better, in an interview with the National Book Foundation. "I am incredibly drawn to history; personal history, American history, Southern history, family history, the history of a community, the history of secrets, the history that has gone missing, the history that has been told by the lion hunter but not the lion, the history of pencils, of loss, of tenderness, the history of what the future just might be if we would only... I believe our many beautiful ways of saying and communicating and the telling of our stories has been taken for granted and we can't let that happen. All of us who make something with our hands and hearts must step into every arena that we possibly can and bring with us the most eloquent, charged, radical (radical only means grabbing it by the root), tender, truthful words spilling from our arms. Our children deserve this from us."

Nikky Finney, 2011 National Book Award for Poetry, Provost’s Distinguished Service Professor of English at the University of Kentucky

Finney at the National Book Award Ceremony

Terrance Hayes, 2010 National Book Award for Poetry, Professor of Creative Writing at Carnegie Mellon University

Hayes reading from Lighthead

Thomas Sayers Ellis, Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Sarah Lawrence College

Ellis reading "All their Stanzas Look Alike"

Tracy K. Smith, 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Princeton University

Smith reads some of her poems

On April 17, come celebrate National Poetry Month at the Schomburg Center with Yusef Komunyakaa, Distinguished Senior Poet at New York University.

What else can you do? The Academy of American Poets — which inaugurated the National Poetry Month in 1996 — shares some ideas.

A Poet's Poet: Gregory Corso

John Flood, Grand Central Branch Library — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:38:58 -0400

Gregory Corso was born at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City. His family lived near Bleecker and MacDougal streets at the time of his birth.

His birthday is March 26.

His famous poem "Marriage" can be found online, but I'll quote his epitaph here:

Spirit
is Life
It flows thru
the death of me
endlessly
like a river
unafraid
of becoming
the sea

This marks his grave in Rome, at the foot of Percy Bysshe Shelley's grave.

First Fig: Edna St. Vincent Millay in the Village

John Flood, Grand Central Branch Library — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 09:24:16 -0500

The house is for sale again, apparently — One of the most famous in Greenwich Village, 75 1/2 Bedford Street, otherwise known as the skinniest house in New York.

Formerly, it was the home of poet Edna St. Vincent Millay. Her birthday is February 22.

Perhaps Millay's fate was to live in the Village. How many people are named after a hospital, after all? Born in Maine, she was named for the Village institution that saved her uncle's life.

In later life, Millay lived in upstate New York — in Austerlitz, at Steepletop, which is preserved in her memory.

Three hundred and sixty-five of her poems are available from Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, but here are two samples of her work.

This appears etched on the wall of the Manhattan terminal of the Staten Island Ferry:

We were very tired, we were very merry —
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.

"Recuerdo"

But her best known poem is:

My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends —
It gives a lovely light.

"First Fig"

Life is a Stream: Amy Lowell in the Village

John Flood, Grand Central Branch Library — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:21:00 -0500

Amy Lowell was a poet who lived for a time at 61 Washington Square in New York City. February 9 is her birthday.

Here is a short selection from her work:

Life is a stream
On which we strew
Petal by petal the flower of our heart.

"Petals," from Dome of Many-Coloured Glass (1912)

658 of her poems are available though Columbia Granger's World of Poetry.

She was postumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1926.

Joining the Club: The Poetry of David Shapiro

Jeremy Czerw, Battery Park City — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:28:32 -0500

Perhaps it's because audiences for poetry are a bit smaller than some of the other genres I'm drawn to, but whenever I finally get around to reading a poet others have recommended to me, it seems like knocking on the door to a little club of sorts. When the poet is as interesting as David Shapiro, one hopes to return to that door again and again.

Shapiro is one of many distinguished contributors to the new journal Bridge, which promises "collaborations between poets, visual artists, musicians, and accountants." A reading from Issue One takes place Monday, February 13 at the Poetry Project.

Mr. Flood's Party

John Flood, Grand Central Branch Library — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:43:47 -0500

If you are of a certain age, you may be familiar with Edwin Arlington Robinson from a Simon and Garfunkel song, "Richard Cory." The words of the song were changed somewhat from what Robinson wrote but it still ended with the same shocking, brutal conclusion. Here’s the whole poem:

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
"Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich—yes, richer than a king—
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.

"Children of the Night" (1910)

Edwin Arlington Robinson grew up in Gardiner, Maine, but spent part of his career in the Village, residing at 51 Washington Square South, 121 Washington Place and 28 W. 8th Street. December 22 is his birthday.

The other Edwin Arlington Robinson poem that made an impression on me, for obvious reasons, was "Mr. Flood’s Party."

My parties are nothing like Mr. Flood's.

Made of Stories

John Flood, Grand Central Branch Library — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 05:21:42 -0500

Muriel Rukeyser, poet and activist, was born on December 15, 1913.

She lived in Westbeth at Bethune and West Streets in the West Village.

Her words will tell you more about her than anything I can write:

"To be a Jew in the Twentieth Century" (1944)
To be a Jew in the twentieth century
Is to be offered a gift. If you refuse,
Wishing to be invisible, you choose
Death of the spirit, the stone insanity.
Accepting, take full life. Full agonies:
Your evening deep in labyrinthine blood
Of those who resist, fail, and resist; and God
Reduced to a hostage among hostages.
The gift is torment. Not alone the still
Torture, isolation; or torture of the flesh.
That may come also. But the accepting wish,
The whole and fertile spirit as guarantee
For every human freedom, suffering to be free,
Daring to live for the impossible.

And the brilliant:

The Universe is made of stories, not of atoms.

Her papers can be found in the Berg Collection.

Winter is an Etching: An Artistic Quotation

Jessica Cline, Mid-Manhattan Library, Art and Picture Collections — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 10:45:01 -0500

Every November, the searches for Stanley Horowitz on Google gain momentum. Horowitz, a poet, published a tranquil 18 word poem in the November 1983 issue of Reader’s Digest magazine, page 109. Some years later the poem was posted to a list of autumn quotations on the Internet, sandwiched between poetry giants like John Keats and Robert Frost, and it has been used ubiquitously all over the web ever since.

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. — Stanley Horowitz

As one of my regular patrons, Horowitz was interested to know how many websites his poem is quoted on. A search of his name and the first line of the poem retrieved around 1,630,000 results. His lines about the seasons are being used in many interesting ways, from grief counseling to public parks, from a legislative seat to a Philippine newspaper, and by many other locations across the world. Most call the words “inspirational.”

His poem has been illustrated with images on Flickr (to the left is one by photographer Jenny Downing), as a starting point for fall fashion blogs, and are certainly on the minds of many lunching in Bryant Park on a crisp November day. He has even been quoted in a book titled 365 Prescriptions for the Soul by Dr. Bernie S. Siegel. All are unaware that the man who has touched them with his words of beauty is across the street on the third floor of Mid-Manhattan Library, looking up paintings in books to inspire his new project — an entire book of poems about the seasons. For all of those websites that don't really know who or where the quote came from — Horowitz is here in New York. Look for him at the Library.

Well, Horowitz, now you can expect a return of 1,630,001 results. And thank you for letting me inspire others with your poem.

Slam Poetry in NYC

Charlie Radin, Summer Intern — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 07:33:02 -0400

Slam Poetry is alive and well in New York City and beyond. Check out this slam the NYPL and Urban Word hosted at the Bronx Library Center, featuring the Precision Poetry Drill Team. With so many of the Urban Word visiting poets coming from the Slam tradition, I want to take a moment and discuss the art form and point you towards exciting Slam events, videos, and resources in New York City.

The history of slam poetry is complicated, almost as complicated as trying to find the first Ray’s Pizza in New York. However, most agree that the first Poetry Slams were held at the Green Mill Jazz Club in Chicago, IL, circa 1984. Slam is a freewheeling, ever-evolving form. Everyone from hip hop emcees to punk rockers have tried their hand at Slamming.

The best way to define slam to is to leave it to two prolific poets. Saul Williams rhymes, “We are determined, to be the channelers of these changing frequencies into songs, paintings, writings, dance, photography, carpentry, love, and LOVE.” Rapper and occasional poet Common says, ‘I sing a song for the hero unsung, with faces on the mirror of the revoluSHUN...” Slam is yet one more way that creative people are expressing themselves. As soon as someone defines it, someone else comes along and changes the game.

In a typical Slam, poets are given a fixed amount of time (usually 3 minutes) to perform their poem. Other than that, nothing is out of bounds. You just need to rock the crowd with your words. Props are thought to detract from the poetry, and are almost never allowed. Check out Saul Williams absolutely throwing down in this clip.

Urban Word NYC holds a Slam Tournament throughout the Winter and Spring, culminating in a final Slam at the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem, with prizes and celebrity judges and performers. The tournament is free and open to everyone. Visit UrbanWordNYC on the web for more details.

If you can’t wait until next year to start slamming, the Nuyorican Poetry Cafe has been hosting Open Slams for twenty years, and they are going strong. They host Open Slams every Wednesday and Friday night. For more information, visit nuyorican.org.

NYPL also hosts poetry slams throughout the year. Check our calendar of events at nypl.org/events, and select “Literature, Poetry, and Writing” from the Event Topics menu.

Step up to the microphone and get started!