Come what may: poetry for the new year
In a recent online search, I came across “Good Riddance, But Now What?” by that master of light verse, Ogden Nash:
Notes on a novel and a collection of verse
The day before my June getaway to the beach ended, I developed a bad case of bookshop lust.
The earth speaks; hopefully, we’re listening
Somehow in the last couple years scanning the stacks and shelves of our local library and indie bookstore, I missed seeing an important book focused on and designed for the times we are living in. “Spiritual Ecology: The Cry of the Earth” (The Golden Sufi Center Publishing, 309 pages, 2021), edited by Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, is a compendium of essays and poems addressing all the requisite issues that the word “ecology” implies.
Litmus test of a community: A look back at the arts in WNC 2022
As it has been stated in this publication many times before, the litmus test of the strength of a community is by how strongly its arts is supported.
I am one of you forever: A conversation with Fred Chappell
In conversation, Fred Chappell is a man of few words and sentiments. Perhaps that’s because he uses all of his vocabulary and emotions to spill across the blank page.
The lost poems of Wilma Mankiller
Wilma Mankiller was the first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1985 to 1995. She was an activist for many Native American and progressive social causes and programs throughout her adult life and was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Buddhism and the San Francisco Beats
“Crowded By Beauty” (University of California Press, 2015) is the poetic title of the most recent biography of Philip Whalen. Who was Philip Whalen? As the author David Schneider describes him:
Take time to read the ‘Book of Nature’
During the pandemic, regional authors have been busy. I’ve been made aware of several books being released this year by writers in our own back yard who have published books in several genres.
National Poetry Month: Honor our poets by listening
What month other than April could possibly be designated National Poetry Month?
Amanda Gorman's New Year's Poem 'New Day's Lyric'
Amanda Gorman is the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, as well as an award-winning writer and cum laude graduate of Harvard University, where she studied Sociology. She has written for the New York Times and released three books in 2021. She is a committed advocate for the environment, racial equality, and gender justice. This is her latest poem, "New Day's Lyric."
