April 2, 2011
raccoon prayer by Lucille Clifton
April 1, 2011
Dreams by Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
This poem was selected by Rika G. (Reference Librarian)
Hey all you poetry lovers and likers, happy days are here again! National Poetry Month has finally arrived, and in response to overwhelming popular demand, we’re bringing back our Poem-a-Day feature to properly mark the occasion. That’s right, we’re having a poetry party right here on Off the Shelf where each and everyday of April you can drop by to enjoy a fresh, new poem selected by our EPL staff. So, come join the fun, share a few of your own favorite poems, and look no further than Off the Shelf for your April poetry fix.
February 16, 2011
The British Council, an international organization whose motto is “Learn, share, connect worldwide,” promotes the exchange of knowledge and ideas between people around the world. One of its many resources is Contemporary Writers, a database of UK, Commonwealth, and Republic of Ireland writers to which it adds new names each month. A page comprising a biography, a list of the writer’s works, the genres in which the s/he writes, a bibliography, awards garnered, and a critical perspective on the work, is devoted to each author. This is a wonderful resource for students of literature, and for those who want to enhance their reading choices. And it’s just plain fun to browse.
Mary B., Reader’s Services
January 27, 2011
The Case of the First Mystery Novelist
The NY Times solves the mystery of who wrote the first detective novel. Published in 1865, The Notting Hill Mystery received rave reviews from Victorian critics as it pioneered the popular new mystery genre. Until now, however, the author’s identity has never been known.
The Best Poetry of 2010
NPR’s picks for the top poetry volumes of last year are listed along with excerpts from each work. In a banner year for poetry, the annotated list includes Terrence Hayes’ National Book Award-winning Lighthead (pictured right) as well as new volumes by Charles Simic and Kathleen Graber.
You’ve Been Verbed
The recent grammatical phenomenon of turning nouns into verbs is explored at length by The Economist. Whether we’re friending, Googling, snowboarding, or texting, “verbing” is changing our language at hyperspeed. Ben Franklin would not be pleased.
Barack in Bronzeville
Author Rebecca Janowitz presents a compelling argument for locating the future Obama Presidential Library in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. Though Hawaii is already making it’s pitch, a Bronzeville site offers tremendous possibilities.
January 25, 2011
The TS Eliot Prize for poetry by a writer from the UK has been awarded to Derek Walcott, who won the Nobel for literature in 1992. His work White Egrets won acclaim for being ” a moving, risk-taking and technically flawless book by a great poet,” according to the judges. It even includes two poems to Barack Obama!
Shira S.
July 12, 2010
To check out some poems by Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate of the United States, that have been set to animation, go to the Billy Collins action poetry.
(M. Boylan, Reader’s Services)
June 8, 2010
Last week, John Wooden, one of the greatest baskeball coaches of all time, passed away at the age of 99. In this article he wrote for Poetry Magazine, he describes his love of poetry and how he “constantly incorporated bits of poetry, rhymes, and maxims” throughout his long and distinguished career.
April 30, 2010
Has it been a month already?? Check your calendar, poetry fiends, it seems that it has. April is over, May flowers (and their attendant pilgrims) are on the way, and National Poetry Month is history for another year. We hope that you’ve enjoyed it as much as we have, and that you’ll continue to read, write, explore and seek out new poems and poets all the other months of the year. Because as great as National Poetry Month is, reading poetry every month is better still. It doesn’t take long, cleanses your harried mind, gives you something to ponder the next time you’re bored or frustrated (hello, dentist chair; greetings, traffic snarl), and adds a tiny dash of the world’s wide and varied beauty into your life. And with that in mind, we offer up one final slice of poetic sublimity (and one of my personal favorites) for your enjoyment. Happy April, May, and beyond.
Fragmentary Blue by Robert Frost
Why make so much of fragmentary blue
In here and there a bird, or butterfly,
Or flower, or wearing-stone, or open eye,
When heaven presents in sheets the solid hue?
Since earth is earth, perhaps, not heaven (as yet)–
Though some savants make earth include the sky;
And blue so far above us comes so high,
It only gives our wish for blue a whet.
This poem was selected by Andy R. (Reader’s Services)
Reading poetry is not always easy. It’s a kind of writing that most of us aren’t used to seeing very often. There are many different types of poems, structures, rhyme schemes, free verse, prose poetry, all with different forms, all of which require a different way of reading. Words dance around on the page. Line breaks come in odd and sometimes awkward places. How is one meant to read these pieces? Where does one thought end and the next begin? Do you treat each line as its own sentence and pause at the end? When do you stop for a breath? These are just some of the common questions that can confront and confound readers of poetry. Continue reading “Sounds Pleasant for a Boy”
