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Poet Lore, Vol. 105 No. 1/2

Spring/Summer 2010

Includes poems from Bronwen Butter Newcott, Matthew Thorburn, Martin Lammon, Dwayne Betts, Ladan Osman, D. Nurkse, Stephen Lackaye, and others.

Our special Poets Introducing Poets features a collection of poems by Kate Angus, as introduced by David Lehman.

This issue also includes reviews of 67 Mogul Miniatures by Raza Ali Hasan; Habeas Corpus by Jill McDonough; Spare Parts by Anne Harding Woodworth; Temper by Beth Bachmann; and The Royal Baker’s Daughter by Barbara Goldberg; and an essay on “Writing About Writing” by Linda Pastan.

Dear Caitlin,

I just want to say what an astonishing read this issue of Poet Lore is. The arc of the poems is stunning.

I love to see if I know anyone else in whatever journal I’m in, and who my neighbor is on the facing page, and what they wrote. I was knocked down to see my roommate from Bread Loaf, and now longtime friend, Ilyse Kusnetz on the facing page! Now we are roommates in a book. I just wanted to let you know how weird and wonderful that was for both of us.

I see Poet Lore is having a reading at AWP. I will look forward to saying hello.

Again, great issue. So pleased to be a part of it.

Cheers, Kerrin

It’s notes like these that remind me why I love what I do!

Read Kerrin’s and Ilyse’s new works in our 120th Anniversary issue.

Please note that this event is free, and do email us to reserve a space.  The RSVPs are already comin in!  Caitlin.Hill at writer.org!

So, while you await Volume 104, No. 3/4, I thought I’d let you know what the editors of Poet Lore will be up to this year.

If you are a DC Metro local, and you don’t subscribe to Bethesda Magazine, pick up an issue this fall. Jody Bolz is featured in an article about her neighborhood and she talks about working for Poet Lore and the role poetry plays in her life.

On September 26^th I will be representing Poet Lore in Silver Spring, MD at the Magical Montgomery festival from noon to 6pm. Magical Montgomery is put together by the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County, and is only a few years old. It’s been lots of fun each year, with booths from local arts and humanities organizations and folks taking the stage near the Silver Spring fountain to sing, dance, and play music. As an added bonus, the festival stretches across a lovely couple of blocks surrounded by restaurants, shops, and movie theaters, so you really can’t go wrong spending the afternoon there.

Visit http://www.creativemoco.com/calendar/event/8 for more info.

On November 14th we will have our 120th birthday party at the Historical Society of Washington DC.  It’s going to be a wonderful event with readings by poet John Balaban and others, TBA.  We will have cake and drinks and, of course, the newest issue of Poet Lore, hot off the press.  I will have lots more information as that gets closer.

This January, Folger Shakespeare Library is sponsoring an evening reading to celebrate Poet Lore’s birthday in conjunction with Beltway Poetry Quarterly’s 10th anniversary. Poets Kim Addonizio and Kyle Dargan will read, and E. Ethelbert Miller and Jody Bolz will be on a panel with Beltway editor Kim Roberts to discuss the publications.  We haven’t quite nailed down the date, but keep an eye on the Folger Calendar: http://www.folger.edu/calendar.cfm?calDate=2010,01,09 and this blog for updates.

In March of 2010, Jody and Ethelbert will be on a panel at Split This Rock with the editors of Beloit Poetry Journal talking about poetry with historical/political substance: http://www.splitthisrock.org/

And, finally, this April we will be in Denver for AWP, with another lovely booth, awesome swag, free archived issues to give away, and new issues for sale.  AWP is a fantastic way to network with other writers and editors, as well as a chance to surround yourself with like-minded people and to attend readings and panels and remind yourself what you love about literature and the craft of writing.

I think that should just about do it for now.  Make sure your subscription to Poet Lore is current!  If you need to join or renew, click the subscription link on the right.  You do not want to miss this upcoming issue.  You won’t see its like anytime soon

Happy Writing!

Poet Lore will have a booth in the bookfair exhibit at the upcoming AWP Conference in Chicago, where we’ll be celebrating our 120th year in print. 

When Charlotte Porter and Helen Clarke started their 25 cent journal on “Shakespeare, Browning & Contemporary Literature” in 1889, I don’t think they could have imagined what Poet Lore would become. 

Over a century later, thanks to The Writer’s Center, Poet Lore is still going strong, with fabulous established and emerging voices coming together in every issue.  Dedicated to contemporary poetry, Poet Lore celebrates innovative and evocative form, style, tone, and language.  To honor Poet Lore’s beginnings, we will be selling individual issues for the original cover price of 25 cents at AWP in Chicago.

If you’re there, we hope you’ll stop by to see us in Booth 238.  Those of you who’ve been published in our pages before, we’d be proud to have you sign the issue in which your work appeared for our archives.  Those of you who have not yet appeared in our journal, send us your work!  We hope to see you in sunny Chicago for Valentine’s Day.

In 1869 the Wyoming territory constitution granted women the right to vote and to hold public office, and thus 1892** was the first United States presidential election in which women cast legal votes, though we all recall that it wasn’t until 1920 that all American women of age were granted the right to vote.

With a female Vice Presidential candidate and a bi-racial Presidential candidate just weeks away from possible election, the excitement in this country is palpable.  Poet Lore honors this historical time by reminding us how we got here, and how far we’ve come.

I encourage you to check out the newest issue of Poet Lore, available now for purchase.  Inside are poems about past figures, present tensions, future predictions.  Consider it an investment in your literary future.  Its value is not measured by the Dow Jones,  nor will its worth fluctuate with the market.  Poet Lore is here to share the voices of poets yet unread, as well as new thoughts by those we’ve grown to love.  The literary discourse in America seems to thrive only in University settings, but it is important to spread the joy, the perspective, and the vision that is found in tremendous poetry throughout the world.

All you have to do to become a part of the international poetry scene is to open the magazine and take it in, for, as Theodore Roosevelt so aptly put it: I am a part of everything that I have read.

*There were rumors that Grover Cleveland is the first President to have an African American guest at the White House, but Teddy gets the credit for doing it publicly, with the stipulation that you include some mention of dinner.

**Interestingly, 1892 was the year Grover Cleveland was elected, to bring him back again.

Keep your eyes peeled for Vol. 103, No’s 3&4 this fall.  The cover features a wonderful image from the Library of Congress of Theodore Roosevelt, reminding us of this historical election year:

It’s still not too late to renew your subscription to Poet Lore, and receive this fantastic issue hot off the press.

You can still order copies of Poet Lore through the Writer’s Center, and our next issue comes out this fall, so subscribe early to be sure you receive yours hot off the press.