swell swag
May 23, 2018
The Poetry Society of America is holding its annual Spring Benefit on Wednesday, May 30, 2018. The evening will honor Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith. Tickets and tables are still available.
If you won’t be able to make it to the benefit (or even if you will), PSA is offering an array of swell poetry swag in their silent auction, including appealing adventures, dazzling art, a poetry consultation with Billy Collins, a stay at the Ace Hotel in New York, books, classes, tickets, broadsides, posters, and subscriptions. Visit the auction page online.
literary gaming, part two
May 22, 2018
Unlikely as it is, this is our second post in a week on gaming. The first talked about Haiku Adventure. This post introduces (or, if you’re an early adapter, re-introduces) Walden, a Game.
Walden, a game is an exploratory narrative and open world simulation of the life of American philosopher Henry David Thoreau during his experiment in self-reliant living at Walden Pond. The game begins in the summer of 1845 when Thoreau moved to the Pond and built his cabin there.
Players follow in his footsteps, surviving in the woods by finding food and fuel and maintaining their shelter and clothing. At the same time, players are surrounded by the beauty of the woods and the Pond, which hold a promise of a sublime life beyond these basic needs. The game follows the loose narrative of Thoreau’s first year in the woods, with each season holding its own challenges for survival and possibilities for inspiration.
Though a computer version of Walden has been available for a year, it recently launched on PlayStation 4. According to an Associated Press article by Dylan McGuinness, the game, including visuals and sounds, is modeled closely on Thoreau’s world.
Whether the game inspires readers to seek out the book or relieves them of the need to read it, the developers hope it will expand awareness of Thoreau’s experiment in nature and have made it available free to educators.
join the celebration
May 21, 2018
As we mentioned back in November, Seattle has been designated a UNESCO City of Literature. Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 7:00pm, you can join in the official celebration at the Seattle Public Library, 10th floor. The event is free, but advance registration is requested.
Read more about the City of Literature program, Seattle-specific and otherwise, in today’s issue of Crosscut.
Oregon Poet Laureate
May 20, 2018
Congratulations to Kim Stafford, who has been appointed as Oregon’s ninth poet laureate. Read all about it.
Reasons to go to… Iceland…Greece…Australia…
May 19, 2018
Actor Bill Murray has teamed up with cellist Jan Vogler (and friends) to create New Worlds, a recording and a tour in which “Murray brings his wit and charm to classic songs, prose, and poetry by Twain, Hemingway, Whitman, Bernstein, Gershwin, Foster, and more in dialogue with Vogler’s transfixing Stradivari cello.” Check out the tour dates on the New Worlds website and read more on NPR.
(This isn’t Bill Murray’s first venture into the world of poetry. Read/see/hear more here.)
on poetry
May 18, 2018
“But the fact is that writing is the only way in which I am able to cope with the memories which overwhelm me so frequently and so unexpectedly.”
W.G. Sebald
(May 18, 1944 – December 14, 2001)
. . . . .
photo
quote: The Rings of Saturn
tonight in Bellingham!
May 17, 2018
Just a quick reminder that the Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest Awards Ceremony is this evening, Thursday, May 17, 2018, starting at 7:00pm at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal, 355 Harris Avenue, in Fairhaven. It’s entirely free and open to the public. This year’s winning poets will read their poems, ALL of the year’s submissions will be on display, and there will be a chapbook of poems for sale. Parking is free.
