“To a Cat” by Jorge Luis Borges
"Reality is not always probable, or likely." - Jorge Luis Borges… Read More
“All Other Ground Is Sinking Sand” by Ashley Anna McHugh
“All Other Ground is Sinking Sand” is reprinted from Into These Knots (Ivan R. Dee), copyright © 2010 by Ashley Anna McHugh, by permission of the author.… Read More
“Snakes at the Farm” by Kevin O’Shea
"Looking for snakes, I found one . . ."… Read More
“The Avatar Song” by Mark Schorr
Mark Schorr's books include "Conscious Explanations" (Pen & Anvil); "Heart's Ladder", a collection of forty sonnets; the book-length renga sequence "Recovery: 77 Dream Songs"; "One On A Side: An Evening with Seamus… Read More
Cynthia Brings You the “Cheesy” Poetry of the “Chaucer of Cheese”
When I found this great quote from G.K. Chesterton I decided to see if he was onto something. "Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese. "… Read More
“Thomas Hood” by Edwin Arlington Robinson
"The man who cloaked his bitterness within / This winding-sheet of puns and pleasantries."… Read More
“Knife” by Grizzly Bear
"There are still bands who 'get' harmony. A great example is Grizzly Bear, an indie band whose four members, Chris Bear, Daniel Rossen, Ed Droste and Chris Taylor all contribute unique vocals… Read More
Final Solutions: Ernest Hilbert Discusses Frederick Seidel’s Troubled First Collection
The latest issue of The Dark Horse contains new poems by the likes of David Mason, Jason Guriel, Nicholas Friedman, and Linda Besner. It also contains a selection of poets writing on… Read More
“My God, It’s Full of Stars” by Tracy K. Smith
Tracy K. Smith's two previous collections of poems, Duende and The Body's Question, won the James Laughlin Award and the Cave Cavem Poetry Prize. Life on Mars will be published by Graywolf… Read More
“The Cat and the Moon” by W.B. Yeats
"The cat went here and there / And the moon spun round like a top."… Read More
“Gwin, King of Norway” by William Blake
"Come, kings, and listen to my song."… Read More
“Public Art” by Matthew Zapruder
"Zapruder’s poems are ordered by dream logic that melds the familiar with the mysterious." - Donna Seaman… Read More
Cynthia Says “Come into My Parlor . . .”
These spiders look happy. You almost want to hang out with them!… Read More
“St. Nothing” by Daniel Rossen
From the superb Silent Hour/Golden Mile EP. … Read More
“Dare” by Nate Klug
“Dare” was originally published in Poetry magazine and is reprinted by permission of the author.… Read More
Scholarships Available for New Students at the World of Versecraft MFA Program, Western State Colorado University
Please spread the news about new scholarships available for poets who wish to pursue a low-residency MFA in poetry at Western State University of Colorado. I teach a course on music and… Read More
“The Burning Bush” by Jericho Brown
“The Burning Bush” is reprinted from Please, copyright © 2008 by Jericho Brown, by permission of New Issues Poetry & Prose.… Read More
“Smokehouse” by Jeffrey Harrison
"Harrison's language is exact, sinuous, and compelling, and leads to places we may not have seen before, but know when we arrive. This is a beautiful book." - Henry Taylor… Read More
“The Stones in Gimme Shelter” by Rick Mullin, No. 4 from The Stones Jones Canzones
Rick Mullin’s poetry has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including American Arts Quarterly, Unsplendid, Méasŭre, The Flea, and Ep;phany. His epic poem Soutine, on the life of the painter Chaim Soutine, was… Read More
“The Magic Trick” by Nicholas Friedman
Nicholas Friedman works as a lecturer for Cornell University. Recent poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The Dark Horse, POETRY, The New Criterion, Southwest Review, and other publications.… Read More
“South” by Jack Gilbert
"It is impossible to picture certain poets buying Cheetos at a Sunoco. Granted, this is true of a particular sort of person in any occupation—it’s hard, for example, to imagine Mitt Romney… Read More
“Sailor’s Yarn” by Tomas Tranströmer, Translated by Robin Fulton
Tranströmer is the recipient of the 2011 Nobel Prize for Literature. His other honors and awards include the Aftonbladets Literary Prize, the Bonnier Award for Poetry, the Neustadt International Prize for Literature,… Read More
“When All is Said and Done, It Still Makes Good Toast”: Satanic Toaster and Vintage Classy Journalism from The Today Show
This hard-hitting investigative segment first aired in May, 1984. Richard Dominick, the apprentice interviewer, would later work (surprise) as a producer for the Jerry Springer Show. A positively stunning moment in American… Read More
“Women Who Destroy” by Afaa Michael Weaver
Afaa Michael Weaver is the Alumnae Professor of English and director of the Zora Neale Hurston Literary Center at Simmons College in Boston, and Chair of the Simmons International Chinese Poetry Conference.… Read More
“The Ghost” by Ben Mazer
"Ben Mazer is one of the few poets of his generation to understand that only mastery of craft will bring you to the natural breath, and that to sing memorably in verse,… Read More
“Entombed Forever in the Heart of an Extinct Mountain” by Ernest Hilbert
This poem is madness, or at least one of the many forms poetic madness can take. It may seem at first a departure from my usual approach, but it is merely an… Read More
Believe in Bacon: Herr Doctor Dan’s Bloody Mary
E-Verser Dr. Daniel Mitchell, of Leamington Spa, in Great Britain, recently acquired a bacon-flavored Vodka called (what else?) BAKON from the continent. When it arrived, the package was addressed, in good northern… Read More
“PAST PRESENT FUTURE” by Ernest Hilbert
Ernest Hilbert is the author of Sixty Sonnets (2009). A spoken word album recorded with rock band and orchestra, Elegies & Laments, will appear on limited-edition white vinyl, CD, and for digital… Read More