Tag: poetry

On This Date: John Keats Publishes His First Poem

May 5, 2016

John_Keats_by_William_HiltonAnother National Poetry Month might be in the books, but here at EPL we’ve got a fever, and the only prescription is more poetry!  So if you’re like us and April was merely an appetizer for your poetry hunger, you might enjoy feasting on this historic tidbit:  on May 5th exactly 200 years ago, the revered Romantic poet John Keats published his very first poem in Leigh Hunt’s The Examiner.  Titled “O Solitude!,” the sonnet began a remarkable and tragically brief career that saw Keats publish three celebrated books of poetry before his death from tuberculosis on February 23, 1821 at the age of 25.  You can read “O Solitude!” below, and then drop by EPL to check out the rest of Keat’s work.  You won’t be disappointed.

O Solitude! (Sonnet VII)

O Solitude! if I must with thee dwell,
Let it not be among the jumbled heap
Of murky buildings; climb with me the steep,–
Nature’s observatory–whence the dell,
Its flowery slopes, its river’s crystal swell,
May seem a span; let me thy vigils keep
‘Mongst boughs pavillion’d, where the deer’s swift leap
Startles the wild bee from the fox-glove bell.
But though I’ll gladly trace these scenes with thee,
Yet the sweet converse of an innocent mind,
Whose words are images of thoughts refin’d,
Is my soul’s pleasure; and it sure must be
Almost the highest bliss of human-kind,
When to thy haunts two kindred spirits flee.

Want more John Keats?  Try the following:

 

Poet Profiles: Reginald Gibbons

April 28, 2016

ReginaldGibbonsphoto
Photo by Cornelia Spelman

Our National Poetry Month celebration has reached a fever pitch, but before we make our last call and flip on the bright lights, we want to introduce one more special guest to our poetry party.  As you well know, Evanston is home to some seriously talented poets, and it is our pleasure to highlight their work right here on Off the Shelf.  Next up is Reginald Gibbons.  The Director of the Graduate Creative Writing Program in NU’s School of Professional Studies, Gibbons’ tenth book of poems, Last Lake, will be published in October by University of Chicago Press, and his book about poetry, How Poems Think, came out last fall.  He has published a novel, Sweetbitter, has edited a collection of poets’ essays (The Poet’s Work) and other books, and has translated a volume of Selected Poems: Odes and Fragments of Sophocles, poems by Spanish and Mexican poets, and also two ancient Greek tragedies (Bakkhai and Antigone); in 2017 he will publish a book of very short fiction.  We recently spoke with Gibbons via email about his poetic origins, his writing process, and the poetry that inspires him.

Continue reading “Poet Profiles: Reginald Gibbons” →

An Interview with Marta Mazur

April 26, 2016

Marta MazurMarta Mazur is a local painter, poet, and the latest artist to be featured in our ongoing exhibition series Local Art @ EPL.  Her exhibit Life in the Rush is currently on display on the 2nd floor of EPL’s Main Library where you can catch it through April 28th.  Featuring a striking mix of abstract oils, pencil and charcoal drawings, and original poetry, her show strives “to understand difficult issues and take a hard look at society.”  You can see more of Ms. Mazur’s work by visiting her website, and we recently spoke with her via email about her artistic origins, her poetry, and her commitment to social activism.

Continue reading “An Interview with Marta Mazur” →

Poet Profiles: Rachel Jamison Webster

April 12, 2016

BadlandsPhoto

Our National Poetry Month celebration has been raging for nearly two weeks, and it is now time to welcome some very special guests to our poetry party.  You see, Evanston is home to some amazingly talented poets, and throughout the rest of April, it is our pleasure to highlight their work right here on Off the Shelf.  First up is Rachel Jamison Webster.  An Associate Professor of Poetry and Creative Non-Fiction at Northwestern University, Webster is the author of the full-length collection September, the poetry-prose hybrid The Endless Unbegun, and the chapbooks Leaving Phoebe and The Blue Grotto.  Her work has also appeared in Poetry, The Paris Review, and Blackbird, and her numerous honors include the Poetry Foundation’s Emerging Artist Award and the Academy of American Poets’ Young Poets Prize.  We recently spoke with Webster via email about her poetic origins and inspirations, her writing process, and her new poem “Belize.”

Continue reading “Poet Profiles: Rachel Jamison Webster” →

National Poetry Month: April 9th

April 9, 2016

“This living hand, now warm and capable” by John Keats

This living hand, now warm and capable
Of earnest grasping, would, if it were cold
And in the icy silence of the tomb,
So haunt thy days and chill thy dreaming nights
That thou would wish thine own heart dry of blood
So in my veins red life might stream again,
And thou be conscience-calm’d-see here it is-
I hold it towards you.

hand smoke

This poem was selected by Ben R. (Adult Services Librarian)

Poetry Copyright Notice

National Poetry Month: April 8th

April 8, 2016

My Father’s Love Letters by Yusef Komunyakaa

On Fridays he’d open a can of Jax,
Close his eyes, & ask me to write
The same letter to my mother
Who sent postcards of desert flowers
Taller than a man. He’d beg her
Return & promised to never
Beat her again. I was almost happy
She was gone, & sometimes wanted
To slip in something bad.  Continue reading “National Poetry Month: April 8th” →

National Poetry Month: April 6th

April 6, 2016

Le Jardin Des Tuileries by Oscar Wilde

This winter air is keen and cold,
And keen and cold this winter sun,
But round my chair the children run
Like little things of dancing gold.

Sometimes about the painted kiosk
The mimic soldiers strut and stride,
Sometimes the blue-eyed brigands hide
In the bleak tangles of the bosk.

And sometimes, while the old nurse cons
Her book, they steal across the square,
And launch their paper navies where
Huge Triton writhes in greenish bronze.

And now in mimic flight they flee,
And now they rush, a boisterous band–
And, tiny hand on tiny hand,
Climb up the black and leafless tree.

Ah! cruel tree! if I were you,
And children climbed me, for their sake
Though it be winter I would break
Into spring blossoms white and blue!

kids trees

This poem was selected by Kathleen L. (Adult Services Librarian)

Poetry Copyright Notice

National Poetry Month: April 5th

April 5, 2016

The Haunted Palace by Edgar Allan Poe

In the greenest of our valleys
By good angels tenanted,
Once a fair and stately palace–
Radiant palace–reared its head.
In the monarch Thought’s dominion,
It stood there!
Never seraph spread a pinion
Over fabric half so fair!

Banners yellow, glorious, golden,
On its roof did float and flow
(This–all this–was in the olden
Time long ago)
And every gentle air that dallied,
In that sweet day,
Along the ramparts plumed and pallid,
A winged odor went away.

Continue reading “National Poetry Month: April 5th” →

Local Art @ EPL: Marta Mazur

April 4, 2016

hurricane-sandy-f1
“Hurricane Sandy” by Marta Mazur

We are thrilled to welcome local painter and poet Marta Mazur as the next featured artist in our ongoing exhibition series Local Art @ EPL.  Her exhibit – titled Life in the Rush – is currently on display on the 2nd floor of EPL’s Main Library where you can catch it through April 30th.  Featuring a striking mix of abstract oils, pencil and charcoal drawings, and original poetry, her show strives “to understand difficult issues and take a hard look at society.”  You can see more of her work by visiting her website, and make sure to check back with Off the Shelf later in April for a featured interview with the artist herself.  Stay tuned.

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