May
10
Curiosities
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Why poetry will never leave us
Apr
12
Curiosities
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Poetry of Physics, Physics of Poetry (thanks Ron Silliman)
Some massive galaxies like Milky Way relatively new
Jan
14
The Associated Press, gearing up for the inauguration and Elizabeth Alexander’s performance as Poet-in-Chief, solicited a few other major American poets to write a lick or two for the incoming president. More here.
“Charles Simic, another former poet laureate, said ‘it’s impossible to say yes or no. … I can’t write to order. … When do you need it by?’”
“His good intentions didn’t bear fruit.”
Oh, Charlie.
Nov
20
Master of Disguises
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When the editors of Poegles were much younger men, their interest in poetry was first piqued by the incomparable work of Charles Simic. Of course, any resemblance now between the themes and sensibilities of the Poegles collection and those of Mr. Simic’s work, however impoverished the former might appear by comparison, is purely coincidence.
Mr. Simic has a terrific new poem in this week’s New Yorker, and I have no doubt that our esteemed colleagues there would not mind us reprinting the verse here:
Surely he walks among us unrecognized:
Some barber, store clerk, delivery man,
Pharmacist, hairdresser, bodybuilder,
Exotic dancer, gem cutter, dog walker,
The blind beggar singing, Oh Lord, remember me,
Some window decorator starting a fake fire
In a fake fireplace while mother and father watch
From the couch with their frozen smiles
As the street empties and the time comes
For the undertaker and the last waiter to head home.
O homeless old man, standing in a doorway
With your face half hidden,
I wouldn’t even rule out the black cat crossing the street,
The bare light bulb swinging on a wire
In a subway tunnel as the train comes to a stop.