the Kalliope: a consideration of contemporary American poetry.
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Simulating the Reality: A Review of Gabriel Dozal’s The Border Simulator
I would say the key to understanding The Border Simulator is to consider everything anyone can do a simulation. Drinking a Coke, for instance, could be a simulation of refreshment. Eating Cheetos. Buying a baseball cap could be a simulation of playing a sport. Like naming someone “Primitivo,” just because they want to cross the…
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“The New World,” by Kelly Schirmann
There is a movement to prose paragraphs when they appear in poetry books. Something separate from the “prose poem,” which is structured to look like a paragraph, because the materials, being part of a surreal vision or a dream, just won’t settle into regular verse. It needs to feel like the poet felt it, happening…
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“02.03.16,” by Laynie Browne
I don’t feel entirely qualified to make some grand statement about how Laynie Browne approaches books (like does she always write her books as a project, or are the three books I have read coincidentally project books); however, I can register with some confidence that when one of Browne’s books steps into its project, the…
About this site
For many years, I’ve kept a database about poetry books, prizes, teaching positions, and literary journals. I’ve called it Kalliope, because that’s the Greek muse of epic poetry. And, well, I like thinking of the epic scope of American poetry!
And while all that data is still alive and well, I’m changing it so it’s private now. In its place, a blog! Where I’d like to relate some of my personal thoughts about poems, poetry books, literary journals, poetry criticism. Visual art. For a few years I was writing book reviews, which I loved. And then I didn’t love, because reviewing poetry books gets little respect. And every few years there’s going to be someone writing about how dumb book reviews are. Then that person’s friend will probably write something about how poetry is dying.
Consider this site an idiosyncratic aside to those conversations. I am a poet. My wife is a poet. And we are raising a daughter who has assured us she will never be a poet. I like conversations about poetry, and this site is my small contribution to those conversations.
3 SPECTACULAR POEMS