We move a little south for our second offering Of Interest for National Poetry Month. This time we feature two of the shining and rising stars of the Portland poetry scene, Division Leap and Tavern Books First up: The Singing Knives. by Frank Stanford. Lost Roads Press, 1979. $200 The second edition of Stanford's first published book, originally published by Mill Mountain Press in 1971. This edition, published shortly after Stanford's death, adds two poems which did not appear in the 1971 edition, and also appends a 4 pp. afterword concerning Stanford's life and work. The cover and construction of the book differ considerably from...
Happy Birthday to an American Classic: The Great Gatsby
The cover of the 1925 first edition F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece The Great Gatsby was published today, April 10th, in 1925. Since then the book has infiltrated almost every corner of popular culture. Here's a handy flow-chart of the characters: and a screenshot from a 1987 NES video game: Cheers to you Mr. Fitzgerald!
A trio of book sculptures by Rosie Leventon
SOMEWHERE A DOOR SLAMMED.... 2009 Rosie Leventon is one of the new-breed of green artists cropping up around the world. Her work is deeply "grounded in a sensitive concern for the natural environment and how we use it." She "sees her work as interweaving a kind of personal archaeology with the archaeology of contemporary society and the physical archaeology of places." She is all about using local and recycled materials and resources whenever possible. Here's a look at three of her bookish "recycled sculptures." For SOMEWHERE A DOOR SLAMMED Leventon created a tower of paperbacks, mostly of the romance variety. In...
When Technology Kills Language: The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon
Sometimes the word is the thing. The bridge. Sometimes we only know what we feel once it's been said. Words may be the daughters of the earth instead of heaven. but they're not dim. And even in the faintest shimmer, there is light. - Anana Johnson Alena Graedon's debut novel is a powerful harbinger of the dangers of turning too much of our lives over to technology and the barons who control it. Called "a dystopian novel for the digital age," the book grapples with the immense toll technology is taking on our language, our thoughts and our ability to communicate. Set...
Understanding Poetry (After Mark Strand)
The latest from Grant Snider at Incidental Comics. Done in honor of National Poetry Month and inspired by one of Snider's favorite poems, "The New Poetry Handbook" by Mark Strand.