Free is a word that gets used a lot. Politically, everyone wants to be free. Economically, people want free goods and services. Or free money. And poetically, some of us like free verse. Some people give away sex for free. To anybody. Isn’t that gross?
But what I’ve noticed when people use the word ‘free’ in [...]
Jean Baudrillard, a French philosopher, wrote Simulations and Simulacra in the early 1980s. In this book, Baudrillard takes on two major themes of a postmodern society that lead to an interesting problem: the loss of the Real.
For this entry, I will focus just on the simulacra of Simulations and Simulacra in the context of the [...]
Hyperbole and World Class Poetry is inviting guest writers to submit their original articles on poetry and poetics. No poetry, please. We are just taking submissions for articles, interviews, reviews, and discussions on poetics.
If you read the Hyperbole Submission Guidelines then you’ll get a pretty good idea of what I’m looking for. If you need [...]
Capitalism and poetry go hand in hand. I imagine that the first poets sold their songs and chants on an open market, traded their entertainment services for fur and weapons. But today you’re more likely to find a poet bashing the excesses of capitalism and proclaiming the virtues of socialism. But I’m not sure why.
Poetry [...]
How to develop your own poetic style.
Who’s your favorite virgin?
Deborah Ager’s unwritten poetry rules. I like Nos. 1 & 2, and have always obeyed No. 2.
Diane Lockward’s. I like 7, 11, and 12, but I think No. 4 is quickly becoming overdone.
Poetry Hound’s poetry review tips.
The Shepherd on the poetry and criticism split.
And the final [...]
I’d like to offer a great big thanks to Timothy Green, editor of Rattle, for getting me thinking on this. He commented on a former blog post about the nature of didacticism and I wanted to respond in a way that calls for more than a simple comment on a post. Here’s his comment:
The problem [...]
Mary Biddinger, editor of Barn Owl Review, asks, “What are your written or unwritten rules.” The responses, on her blog, are very interesting reading. Mine is here:
Allen’s Rules For Writing Poetry
First, I have no rules.
I don’t follow other people’s rules
If there is a rule that I’m supposed to follow then I break it.
If I’m expected [...]
Yesterday I sicked my inner sicko (psycho?) on the appositives to see if I could get away with murder. Today I’m going to prosecute myself.
Seriously, if I were to answer yesterday’s post with a rebuttal, I’d say there are three types of poetry where appositives are a positive. They are:
Prose poetry
Narrative verse
Language poetry
Differences Between Prose [...]
Two days ago I took a potshot at The Poet’s Companion by Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux. I said I hoped the book would get better and I have not been disappointed. It has. It’s gotten a lot better.
I’ve read through six chapters already and I’ve noticed the book covers a lot of material. The [...]
When I started writing poetry back in the 1980s you almost never saw rhyme in contemporary poetry. In fact, there was such a prejudice against it that the mere mention of rhyme would send most “serious” poets to file 13 to unload their lunch. God forbid a Postmodern poet should rhyme.
But that has changed since [...]