Cool!

World Enough Writers has just released Ice Cream Poems edited by Patricia Fargnoli, so you have time to scoop up a copy for your summer reading. In fact, you can get a taste of what’s inside by tucking in at SoulFood Poetry Night this Thursday, March 15, 2018, in Redmond, Washington. The readers include Anita K. Boyle, Nancy Canyon, John Davis, Patty Kinney, Thom Schramm, Harvey Schwartz, Heidi Seaborn, Mary Ellen Talley, Julene Tripp Weaver, and Michael Dylan Welch. Plus you can bring your own delicious poems to share during the open mic. And yes, they’ll be serving ice cream!

More SoulFood Poetry Night here.

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Reasons to go to… Atlanta

At Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia, the Raymond Danowski Poetry Library comprises some 75,000 volumes (50,000 of which are catalogued and searchable). Believed to be the largest privately-held assembly of poetry books, the collection was amassed over many years and in 2004 donated to Emory University by Mr. Danowski, who died last week.

The collection is curated by poet Kevin Young and the library hosts a variety of fellowships, readings, exhibitions, and visiting scholars. To learn more about the Library and its collection and programs, visit the Raymond Danowski Poetry Library website.

stories we love

In Ankara, Turkey, a public library in an old brick factory houses some 6,000 books. What’s surprising and wonderful about this library is that the books have been rescued from the trash by garbage collectors. With additional donations from local residents, “The collection grew so large the library now loans the salvaged books to schools, educational programs, and even prisons.” Read the CNN story Garbage collectors open library with abandoned books.
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photo posted by Rudaw English

more new

Here’s another batch of new and “most anticipated” poetry books, thanks to Craig Morgan Teicher and NPR: The Personal Is Always Political: A 2018 Poetry Preview.

a different list

We like lists that suggest essential books and authors, and 12 Essential Spanish-Language Female Authors by Cristina Rivera Garza is no exception. The list includes stories, novels, and poetry, all sounding very tempting and most available in translation.

one more!

We thought it was over, but happened across one more best-of list: “Best” U.S. Poetry Books, 2000 – 2020 (a list in progress) by Bill Mohr.

prize

The Poetry Department would like to join the chorus of congratulations for Ocean Vuong, who has been awarded the T.S. Eliot Prize for his debut collection, Night Sky with Exit Wounds (Copper Canyon Press). Read the story in The Guardian.