Category Archives: Poets

The Nuts And Bolts Of Zukofsky

After reading 12-1/2 chapters of “A” by Louis Zukofsky, I’m convinced Zukofsky must have been a lunatic. Only such a person could have spent an entire life on a work such as “A”.
I’m sure “A” has some literary value, but in large part it is a mad rambling. Zukofsky has the ability to make me [...]

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Understanding A Poet's Purpose

To what extent do you make an attempt to understand a poet’s purposes? Or should you?
I suspect that many readers do not take the time to understand a particular poet’s poetic, or weltanschauung, before delving into a reading experience. But I think in many cases, they should.
I recently had a copy of Louis Zukofsky’s “A” [...]

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How Wrong Can You Be? Thomas Gray And Two Of His Critics

By Jack Peachum
Guest Author
I recently took the opportunity to comment on the poem “Ode On A Favourite Cat (Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes)” by Thomas Gray at Poemhunter. Don’t be put off by the title– I said it there and I’ll say it again– this is one of the jewels of English poetry. [...]

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Twitter Haiku and Other Small Gems

Gene Myers is a poet and journalist in New Jersey. I am proud to announce that he now has a digital chapbook available under the imprint of World Class Poetry. It’s available for free with the WCP Poetry Toolbar.
I was so impressed with Gene’s poetry I wrote this in the introduction of the chapbook:

Gene Myers’ [...]

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How Many Sucky Sonnets Can One Poet Read, Anyway?

I waited a long time before I decided to publish this review of 100 Sonnets. Honestly, I really hate to write negative reviews. But I felt like it was an honor issue. The poet sent the book expecting a review. He put out an expense in doing so – in giving away a free copy [...]

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Softwood – Get Your Free Poetry Chapbook

A couple of weeks ago I announced the publication of Hardwood, a chapbook by Gary B. Fitzgerald. Today I am proud to introduce its counterpart, Softwood. Both digital chapbooks are available for free with the download of the World Class Poetry Toolbar.
Reading Gary B. Fitzgerald’s poems are like going back in time and pulling William [...]

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Poetry Chapbook Coming Soon: Hardwood

I am pleased to announce the first poetry chapbook published by World Class Poetry. It is not yet available, but it soon will be.
Gary B. Fitzgerald has commented on some of the blog posts here at World Class Poetry Blog and has been a faithful reader now for about a year, I guess. Last year [...]

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How To Write A Twitter Poem

As National Poetry Month draws nearer, I am planning an experiment that I predict will catch on en masse. I won’t be the first person to do this, but I will be (as far as I know) the first person to codify principles for doing it. The “it” I’m talking about is writing and publishing [...]

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Self Publishing Poetry: The Problem With Vanity

The Internet has made self publishing a whole lot easier. In many respects that’s a good thing. Were it not for the ease of use of capable technology, financial accessibility of the platform, and the internal drive to pursue it, I would not be able to write and publish this blog. All poetry bloggers owe [...]

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No More Waffling On Bukowksi

Over the years I’ve waffled on Bukowski. I liked him. Then I didn’t. Then I did. Then I didn’t. I could never put my finger on why I liked him. Nor could I put my finger on why I didn’t. I just knew that he was different and that was good. But there was always [...]

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