What is it with poetry book covers? They’re so often boring or ugly. I think a major reason for the ugly ones is simply that small presses can’t afford to hire a proper designer. And there’s an understandable concern about overinterpreting the poetry itself. Also, there’s a general idea that the cover must be staid in order to convey the seriousness of the book’s contents. But so many poetry books seem to be saying glumly, “Oh, don’t mind me, I’m poetry. You’re probably not going to like me unless you already know me. I don’t blame you. I’m kind of boring.”
Come on, poetry books! Don’t be so modest. You’re too beautiful to sit around in that frumpy old bathrobe. Here are a few looks you could try on!
Christine Hume, Shot; Counterpath Press, 2009
Susan Briscoe, The Crow’s Vow; Signal, 2010
Alex Lemon, Fancy Beasts; Milkweed Editions, 2010; Cover and interior design by Christian Fuenfhausen
C.K. Williams, Wait; Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010
Gillian Conoley, The Plot Genie; Omnidawn Publishing, 2009
Kim Addonizio, Lucifer at the Starlite; W.W. Norton & Company, 2009
French Pop Song of the Week: Apollinaire’s “Le Pont Mirabeau”
posted April 9, 2010
Posted by Thomas Riggs in authors music poetry translation world literature
Although poet Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918) is not a pop lyricist, the words to one of his best-known poems, “Le Pont Mirabeau” (”The Mirabeau Bridge”), were put to music by Marc Lavoine, pictured above on the cover of his CD titled simply Marc Lavoine (2001). “Le Pont Mirabeau,” the first track on the CD, is a bridge in Paris that spans over the Seine River. Apparently Apollinaire had to walk over the bridge to get to the home of painter Marie Laurencin, his girlfriend from 1907 to 1912. It is also the bridge where poet Paul Celan likely killed himself in 1970. His body was found miles downstream.
Below is Lavoine, since the 1980s a successful French actor and crooner, singing “Le Pont Mirabeau.”
Only in Japan: The Twitter Novel
posted February 8, 2010
Posted by Mariko Fujinaka in publishing social media trends
A while back I mentioned the popularity of cell phone novels in Japan, the land of the tiny and compact. Well, now the rage seems to be the Twitter novel. It’s probably not really possible to write an entire novel in 140 characters, even if they do happen to be information-packed Chinese characters, but it is certainly an interesting concept, and bully for the Japanese for trying! It is likely that most Twitter novelists serialize their novels.
The Sundance Film Festival opens this weekend with the premiere of the Allen Ginsberg biopic “Howl,” starring James Franco (angelheaded hipster du jour). Here’s a clip of Franco’s Ginsberg reciting the end of “Howl for Carl Solomon.” Just for fun, below that is John Turturro reciting the whole durn thing (from the Beat documentary “The Source”).
Poetry Is Alive and Well on the Oregon Coast
posted January 19, 2010
Posted by Mariko Fujinaka in events
Apparently poetry by fishermen is so popular that there are two separate gatherings of fisher poets on the Oregon Coast this year. The 13th annual Fisher Poets Gathering in Astoria, Oregon, will meet the weekend of February 26, 2010, and the inaugural 2010 FisherPoets on the Edge met this past weekend, January 16-19, in Newport, Oregon.
Fisher poets are people who write poetry and are involved with the fishing industry.
Comments