“All eager-lipped I kissed the mouth of Death.”
–U.S. poet Gwendolyn B. Bennett
I found this quote intriguing; my head buzzes with quotes, and sometimes a line lands for a while and makes sense. This quote settled in, maybe because it’s time for me to take stock of the dead poets of 2007. Read post »
John Frederick Matheus* (1887-1963), grandson of slaves, taught at W.Va. State for many years.
A well-known educator in his time, a professor of French, he had a distinct literary talent and held a wide reputation as a poet, dramatist, and story writer.
Here is one of his poems, “In Haiti Is Riot of Color”:**
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Greg Rappleye, lawyer/poet, who lives in, of all places (after the crazy football news this week) — Michigan. Near beautiful Grand Haven, Michigan.
Besides being from a state that has stolen two of our coaches, — “Sorry about that,” he says — there are other, more poetry-direct links to W.Va.: his chapbooks, “The Afterlight,” out in 2006 from WVU-Legal Studies Forum, and another one forthcoming from the Forum in 2008.
The Association of Writers & Writing Programs
2008 Annual Conference & Bookfair
January 30-February 2, 2008
New York, New York
Hilton New York & Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers
Click here for information.
The registration deadline for the third “Poetry Out Loud” competition is Jan. 31, 2008.
Schools’ competitions and/or regional contests must be wrapped up by Feb. 16, 2008.
Spellbinding! … “Irish Christmas in America”: Poetry, music, slide show of Ireland, 6 p.m., Dec. 16, 2007, Cultural Center Theater. General Admission: $18; Seniors: $15; Students: $10 Contact: (304) 415-3668 or visit Footmad’s Web site.
Footmad says, “Concert starting time was originally advertised as 3 p.m. Also 3 p.m. is printed on our tickets. It has been necessary to change the concert time to 6 p.m.”
news item:
VietNamNet Bridge — After many days in pain, poet Pham Tien Duat passed away at Hanoi Military Hospital 108 on December 4, 2007, at the age of 66.
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Pham Tien Duat was a resistance poet who celebrated his companions on the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the Vietnam War. These were people whose realities were saturated with war, unlike most of us here in W.Va., today, who are at war, the rhythms of our days relatively untouched.
Today, I read in the Herts Advertiser about a poet who lives in St. Albans, not the one close to Charleston, W.Va, but another St. Albans, one in the United Kingdom.
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