Category Archives: American Poets

Scott Hightower reads three poems from his upcoming Sutra

“One of the marvels of the world is the sight of a soul in prison holding the keys in its hand.” Rumi The poet Scott Hightower learned that Life goes on after his partner of forty-one years suddenly died … Continue reading →

Jaime Manrique reads from Tarzan My Body Christopher Columbus

20 Sep ’22

I began reading Jaime Manrique’s Tarzan My Body Christopher Columbus over the summer, but because of some eye trouble, my watery itching eyes made it difficult to read. I persevered, however, because the poems valen la pena. As the … Continue reading →

Before and After, The Metamorphosis of a Poet: Linda Kleinbub reads from Cover Charge

7 Aug ’22

Some paths leading to the craft of poetry are certainly paved with serendipity. Take for example, Linda Kleinbub, who, in a round about way, came to poetry by going on a reality TV show called Ten Years Younger. Married … Continue reading →

Alicia Ostriker reads from the volcano sequence

27 Jul ’22

A friend of mine, the Philadelphia poet Joel Colten, on a trip across the USA, stopped to take photographs of Mount Saint Helens, and died when that volcano erupted in 1980. At Joel’s funeral—his body wouldn’t be found for … Continue reading →

NYC From The Inside: NYC through the Eyes of the Poets Who Live Here

24 Jul ’22

Poets, some famous and some not so famous, have been included in NYC From The Inside: NYC through the Eyes of the Poets Who Live Here. This equanimity makes it a very satisfying eventful anthology. I would like to … Continue reading →

Three poems with Art Attached: Hightower, Kolm & Yorty

19 Jul ’22

A few months ago, via email, Scott Hightower sent me his poem, “The Young Man Holding an Empty Glass,” accompanied by a nineteenth century painting and his translation in Spanish. Last week in the mail—or was it two weeks ago?—Ron … Continue reading →

Annabel Lee reads Oracular Transcendentalism

21 Jun ’22

Times flies and is truly transcendent. Several months ago, in a colder time, I went over to Jersey City where Annabel Lee currently lives in a beautiful apartment that is yet too small to contain all she does and is. … Continue reading →

Daniel W.K. Lee reads from Anatomy of Want

21 Jun ’22

I missed Daniel W.K. Lee’s reading at the Bureau when he was in town. I emailed him and asked if he would read some poems from his new book, Anatomy of Want, so I could share them on my blog. … Continue reading →

Alicia Ostriker reads from The Mother/Child Papers

3 Jun ’22

I read The Mother/Child Papers in one sitting. Perhaps it was so accessible because I was sitting by the Atlantic Ocean, at the same time of year as the book begins, in early May, but decades later. I like … Continue reading →

Marcella Durand reads from To husband is to tender

1 May ’22

With some books of poetry, you can jump in anywhere, but with Marcella Durand’s To husband is to tender, I would say, “Start at the beginning, and let the book draw you in.” Contemplation, what it means to be … Continue reading →

Barry Schwabsky reads from Feelings of And

1 May ’22

Common comfortable places become uncommon and uncomfortable, common words whose meanings you thought you knew are a puzzle in pieces, and then the puzzle in pieces becomes a thought you know. You see and then you don’t. Some poems … Continue reading →

Matt Proctor reads from Single Room Occupancy

17 Apr ’22

If you want to give words to every moment, every thought and sight worth jotting down, you need a notebook though any scrap of paper will do. Bill Kushner was a poet I remember fondly who always had a … Continue reading →