and yes, round five…

Just when you think everyone has weighed in on the best books of 2018…

• The Atlantic – includes two poetry titles in its list of The 19 Best Books of 2018
• Autostraddle – 50 of the Best Feminist Books of 2018 includes six poetry titles
• BuzzFeed News – 10 Poets On Their Favorite Poetry Collections Of 2018
• Dennis Cooper – Mine for yours: My favorite fiction, poetry, non-fiction, film, art, and internet of 2018, includes 16 poetry titles
• The Independent (UK) – 14 best poetry books (published in October to mark National Poetry Day)
• Rob McLennan offers his list of twenty-four Canadian poetry titles worth repeating, at Dusie.

Happy New Year!

on poetry

“Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.”
Rudyard Kipling
(December 30, 1865 – January 18, 1936)

. . . . .
photo

meanwhile, in Nashville…

The Poetry in Motion® program was launched in 1992 by the Poetry Society of America (PSA) and “is today one of the most popular public literary programs in American history.” We’ve mentioned it here before.

In most cities, winning poems appear on placards that are posted inside the buses. In Nashville, Tennessee, the Music City competition solicits poems of 25 words or less and the winning words are printed on the outside of the bus (as well as on placards, fare cards, and bus shelters). Fun!

new voices

In the spirit of the season, and to usher in the new year, Pelican Bay Books hosts eight young poets, all current or former students of Anacortes High School. Come hear Anna Prewitt, Addi Garner (Poetry Out Loud 2017 Washington State winner and 2018 honorable mention), John Harrison, Geoffrey Hamilton, Alex Hanesworth, Layne Woodward, Will McCracken, and Jade Carter. The reading starts at 7:00pm tonight, Friday, December 28, 2018.

season’s streaming

Looking for something to do between celebrations? Check out this selection of 18 Literary Documentaries to Stream Over the Holidays in BookRiot.

change is in the air

We’ve recently caught wind of some notable changes in the poetry and publishing world:

• Glimmer Train has announced that its final issues will be Glimmer Train Stories (#106) and Writers Ask (#85), to be published in the fall of 2019.
• The HerStories Project will stop publishing new stories in 2019, but will retain the website and keep the current material accessible.
• Tin House Magazine will cease publication with it 20th Anniversary Issue, to be published in June 2019.
• Whirlwind ended publication with its 12th issue in August of 2018.
• At the Poetry Society of America (PSA), Alice Quinn will step down from her executive directorship in June after 18 years.

We are grateful for all that these people and publications have contributed to our literary lives.

(The trend is not reserved for poetry journals. Major periodicals, including Cooking Light and Glamour have also announced their intent to cease print publication or switch to occasional special-interest journals.)

. . . . .
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merry

© j.i. kleinberg

round four…

The year’s favorites just keep stacking up:

• The Academy of American Poets – the most popular poem in 2018
• Bustle – 15 Poetry Collections From 2018 You Won’t Want To Miss
• The Irish Times – The best poetry books of 2018
• PBS News Hour – 12 gifts of poetry for everyone on your list
• Vulture – 9 Books of Poems That Prove 2018 Was a Fantastic Year — at Least for Poetry

these Sundays

For the past 25 Sundays, this space has featured the Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest winning poems and the beautiful placards designed for each poem (now circulating in Whatcom County buses). We’ve completed the round of 2018 winners, but if you’d care to re-visit them, or any of the Boynton winners since 2006, go to the Winners page and click on a poem name.

The 2019 contest will be open to Whatcom County poets for the month of March and the guidelines will be posted as soon as the judges have been confirmed and the details have been finalized by the contest committee.

Meanwhile, thanks for your poems, thanks for your visits to The Poetry Department, and Happy Holidays!

new light

new light for the solstice © j.i. kleinberg 2018