December 2010
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Poets House Celebrates Charles Olson
In celebration of the upcoming 100th anniversary of Charles Olson’s birth, Poets House is currently hosting an exhibit composed of prints of Olson’s poems and a large selection of his books.
Charles Olson was a Herculean figure in mid-century, American poetry. Immense in stature, wide-scoped, dauntless, “and possessed of an alphabet / before the Greeks”, Olson...
October 2010
1 post
Why I Love Poetry
Ever since the seventh grade when it was demanded that I “take this kiss upon the brow,” I have possessed an undeniable devotion to poetry. You see, writing has always been my medium of choice when it comes to self expression (unlike dance and painting – my other outlets, writing can be done anywhere, anytime). Poetry always served me best because it allowed me to write free of inhibition. Stories...
September 2010
2 posts
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A New Season for Poetry
With the end of September rapidly approaching we New Yorkers can feel the oncoming fall blowing in gently (or like a tornado, as the past weeks have shown us). School has started for college students, high schoolers and kindergartners alike. Boots and coats are being showcased in storefronts. Along with the arrival of cold air and crunchy fallen leaves also comes a new calendar of events at Poets...
Worth Their Salt: Poems Against the Recession
When I deal with poetry, I know what I want. And I’m never disappointed when I get it, since I want what I need and what’s good for me. If I don’t need it, I don’t want it. I can’t speak so boldly outside of literature, where my ambitions, once I decide to express or attain them, undergo trial-and-error for life. Like Kafka’s protagonists, they are barraged by...
August 2010
12 posts
Takin' Care of Business
Kate Mahoney’s current PH project uses technology to extend the reach of a poet’s words.
When I come into Poets House, I take up a post in the AV room or, as I’ve started to hear it affectionately dubbed, “the cave.” Here I’ve been importing the videos and recordings taken at all the events and readings from this past year and editing them in iMovie. Once I edit...
My Journey to Poets House
I am convinced we are all on a journey and the lucky ones among us are willing to record and remember our stories from these journeys. My journey is defined in part by my journey to Poets House. It began on a Friday morning last September when I opened The New York Times.
I was holding the morning edition during a post-run breakfast when I stumbled upon the first write-up about the library in its...
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WatchOn August 12th, we held our first (and hopefully annual) intern and staff reading. We got to hear personal works as well as everyone’s favorite poetry. Enjoy!
Staff and Interns Surface From the Underground
It is assumed that Poets House has a sort of gravitational pull for those who write poetry. Yet while the patrons wear their poetic lives on their sleeves as they scribble in notebooks and flip through journals, the writing brains of my fellow interns remain undisclosed- well at least they did until last night. Each of the interns and staff gives off a sense of ennui: we all seem to embrace the...
Showcasing Poets Lost to AIDS
A few weeks ago, the Poets House Showcase season came to a bitter-sweet close. A sense of nostalgia hung in the air like the parting phrase of a musical piece, its chords slowly straining towards quiet. Yet it was only after the poets began to speak that I understood the origins of these somber notes. Dedicated to poets lost to AIDS, the last reading of the series conveyed that the showcase...
Is Poetry Dead?
Is poetry dead? The quickest answer to this question: walk into Poets House, turn right, enter the Showcase room, and apologize for even asking the question. A better answer, though, would acknowledge the fact that poetry might not seem as much of a focus in our world now as it did in past centuries. The issue is not that poetry is slowly dying; to me, poetry has been a continuous exploration of...
Freehand
In the earliest days of my writing, I remember the giddy excitement of a new journal- the crisp, lined paper; stiff binding; the pleasant heft and solidity of a book I could call my own. It’s been years since I carried a notebook with me; and while I’ve tried time and time again, with marbles and moleskins, legal pads and leather-bound diaries, I can never will myself to use such books as they...
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Continuing the Craft: My Journey through Poetry
Even before I started school, my mother would take me to the library around the corner from my house, where we would sit for hours amidst the card catalogs in the old reading room reciting the poetry of Emily Dickinson out loud. My early understanding of the world around me was shaped by her language and painted in her metaphors. Sunrise became ribbons; snakes became narrow fellows. Though I tried...
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One Foot in the Door
Interning. Something almost every college and high school student experiences, especially those in the arts. It’s how we get a foot in the door of The Industry, learn what will be expected of us, and begin to hone our professional talents. These “jobs” can range from the easy but mundane (filing payroll receipts seven days a week) to challenging and vitally important (interviewing,...
