"New" Elizabeth Bishop Letters in Smartish Pace
March 22nd, 2011
Issue 18 of Smartish Pace ships this week and includes 15 pages of correspondence between Elizabeth Bishop and editors of The New Yorker. These previously unpublished letters will appear here and in a new collection of Bishop letters published by FSG. In the Smartish Pace letters Bishop discusses the editing of several of her poems. Order your copy of Issue 18 here!
Facebook Crying Helps a Poem
January 7th, 2011
Eurydice by Sue Hubbard, which was painted over by Network Rail contractors, is being replaced after Facebook campaign. A mural poem composed to comfort travellers descending into one of Britain’s most dismal underworlds is being recreated after more than 1,000 people who mourned its destruction paid to have it restored. The poem, Eurydice, is one of the longest pieces of public art in the capital. It was inscribed along a concrete tunnel connecting Waterloo station with the Imax cinema and the South Bank 10 years ago.
Wislawa Szymborska Receives Order of the White Eagle
January 3rd, 2011
Nobel Prize-winning poet Wisława Szymborska has received the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest distinction, in Krakow today. The poet, literary critic and translator has published over 20 books since her debut in 1945. Her output includes poetry collectionsQuestioning Yourself, Calling out to Yeti, Colon and Here. Her work has been translated into over a dozen languages. Szymborska was one of around 20 personalities granted state distinctions from the hands of President Bronisław Komorowski today for their contribution to Polish culture, including filmmaker Agnieszka Holland, and actors Krystyna Janda and Janusz Gajos.
Poetry Is King at Eliot Prize Readings in London
January 2nd, 2011
On the belief that poetry is indeed a growing, expanding art form, this year, Southbank Center will host its annual T.S. Eliot Prize Readings festival in larger digs: the Royal Festival Hall. The shortlisted poets for this year’s prize, a prestigious award for the best poetry collection of 2010, are Simon Armitage, Annie Freud, John Haynes, Seamus Heaney, Pascale Petit, Robin Robertson, Fiona Sampson, Brian Turner, Derek Walcott and Sam Willetts. Eight of the poets will attend the Jan. 23 event, with guest poets reading for Mr. Heaney and Mr. Walcott.
What Time of Year Is It?
December 11th, 2010
We ask ourselves that when the perennial questions of poetry's relevance begin to percolate around the criterati. Anis Shivani, of the Huffington Post, considers the future of poetry while cribbing a video of Wayne Miller's recent Smartish Pace reading.
Smartish Pace Pushcart Prize Nominations
December 1st, 2010
Smartish Pace 2010 Pushcart Prize Nominations, made by Editor Stephen Reichert
From Issue 17 (April, 2010)
David Bergman: “When to Call My Mother”
Michael Collier: “Object to Be Destroyed”
Miriam Bird Greenberg: “Remember”
A. Loudermilk: “Coincidence”
Diane K. Martin: “Hue and Cry”
Terence Winch: “The Emptiness”
Here's hopin' we have another winner this year!
Beullah Rose Poetry Prize Winners Announced
November 28th, 2010
7th Annual Beullah Rose Poetry Prize from Smartish Pace
Judges Clare Banks & Traci O'Dea
1st Place: “Bitter Berries” by Marguerite Thoburn Watkins
2nd Place: “Linguini Fini No. 8” by Linda Gottlieb
3rd Place: “Terra Firma” by Corrie Williamson
Finalists:
“Landscape With Bear & Aspen” by Colette Gill
“July and August Highway Heat” by Linda Gottlieb
“American Cortege” & “Reading the Terrible Sonnets on Retreat” by Madeleine Mysko
“October Divide” by Rebekah Remington
All poems will appear in Smartish Pace, Issue 18.
The Trouble with Poetry
November 20th, 2010
is that it isn't being taught. MIT recently came under fire for dropping its advanced poetry workshop in order to enroll students in "Communicating with Mobile Technology" and "Writing for Social Media." Its updated terminal offering in the genre is "Introduction to Poetry." Regarding the change, MIT lecturer Erica Funkhouser says, "Really. I couldn't be sorrier."
Terrance Hayes Wins National Book Award
November 19th, 2010
Poet Terrance Hayes won the National Book Award for Lighthead (Penguin Books). His new poems appear in Smartish Pace, Issue 17. Finalists for the NBA in poetry were Kathleen Graber, The Eternal City (Princeton University Press); Smartish Pace regular James Richardson, By the Numbers (Copper Canyon Press); C.D. Wright, One with Others (Copper Canyon Press); and Monica Youn, Ignatz (Four Way Books). The poetry judges were Rae Armantrout, Cornelius Eady, Linda Gregerson, Jeffrey McDaniel and Brenda Shaughnessy.
Erskine J. Poetry Prize Winners Announced
November 17th, 2010
10th Annual Erskine J. Poetry Prize from Smartish Pace
Judged by Editor Stephen Reichert
1st Place: “In Our Place” by Anthony DiMatteo
2nd Place: “Santiago Avenue” by Jeanne Wagner
3rd Place: “Dublin” by Rachel Bennett
Finalists:
“New York Minute” by Dorothea Grossman
“High Relief” & “Refracted” by Joy Jacobson
“Desires” by Karoly Sandor
“How to Write a Poem” by Michael Steffen
“If You Will Come Back Here And Let Me Love And Pet You, I Will Fix Your Clock” by Emily Viggiano
All poems will appear in Smartish Pace, Issue 18.
