Don Yorty

Patricia Spears Jones reads new poems

… When I read the poems by Patricia Spears Jones in the latest issue of the Brooklyn Rail, I immediately got in touch with her and asked her if I could record her reading them for my blog. If not … Continue reading →

Jason Schneiderman reads from Hold Me Tight

22 Jul ’20

… Jason Schneiderman’s new book, Hold Me Tight, has some striking violence on its cover yet is very comfortable to hold. It’s this oxymoron about the book that pleases me the most. Pleasing too is the fluid order of the … Continue reading →

Janet Hamill reads from A Map of the Heavens

4 Jul ’20

… In the early 1970s, poets began to memorize their poems so what was coming to the listener was coming from the poet, not from the page. Janet Hamill was one of the first to do this as much a … Continue reading →

Basil King reads from Disparate Beasts

30 Jun ’20

… Basil King focuses on the details that sparkle and create the most important events in an artist’s life. His new book, Disparate Beasts, is the history of a thousand pages condensed through poetry into one. Although he began as … Continue reading →

Two Lesson Plans with Picture Prompts for Writing

28 Jun ’20

… One of the tasks for an English teacher is to get students writing. I have found that putting students into groups to work on one paragraph together prepares them for writing on their own. Here are two lesson plans … Continue reading →

Bill Kushner reads Neighbor

28 Jun ’20

… Bill Kushner and I used to meet and walk. On this August day, I met Bill at the F train at East Broadway, and we walked to Chrystie Street for a lunch special at the Bite of Hong Kong. … Continue reading →

La Plaza poems for the Rites of Spring

26 Jun ’20

… In celebration of New York City’s parks and gardens, Felicia Young asked me to contribute to the annual Rites of Spring, which is usually held with costumes and a parade through the Lower East Side. This year because of … Continue reading →

Tess Taylor reads from Last West: Roadsongs for Dorothea Lange

25 Jun ’20

… On a Thursday I went to see Dorothea Lange’s “Words and Pictures” at MoMa, and on the following Monday, as luck would have it, I heard Tess Taylor read at KGB from her new book that the museum had … Continue reading →

The Rabbit and the Turtle: The First Four Lessons

3 Jun ’20

… The first four lessons of the Rabbit and the Turtle get students creating language, writing sentences with that language, discovering parts of speech from their sentences, and then writing a story with the vocabulary the whole class has generated. … Continue reading →

Judith Braun: Drawing While Listening

28 May ’20

… … From the very first time I saw the art of Judith Braun, I’ve loved it. Though it changes, the remarkable meditative quality remains. Here are a few from the month of May, from her “Drawing While Listening” series. … Continue reading →

Val Vinokur reads from Isaac Babel, The Essential Fictions

26 May ’20

… When I heard Val Vinokur read from Isaac Babel, The Essential Fictions it was an epiphany. I’d heard of Isaac Babel, but I’d never read him, and always associated him with Sholem Aleicham on Broadway in Fiddler on the … Continue reading →

Who Is Standing Where?

22 May ’20

…… To the teacher: This is a very good activity for a new class on the first day, an Icebreaker. In groups of seven, students will get to know each other as they talk and select roles. Who will be … Continue reading →