Recommended Reading: One Poet's Notes

In case you missed it, Edward Byrne of the Valparaiso Poetry Review has recently posted, at his One Poet's Notes blog, about

• the life, poetry and recent death of W.D. Snodgrass
• the poetry of William Stafford (one of my favorite poets)
• Edgar Allan Poe's writing
• Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address, including Barack Obama's comments on that address as the time was nearing for Obama to give his own inaugural address
• Elizabeth Alexander's inaugural poem "Praise Song for the Day".

As far as I'm concerned, Mr. Byrne is swinging for the fence and batting 1000. Take a few minutes to take in these essays. You'll be glad you did.

Political Cartoon

Political humor 



Image taken from http://www.eatliver.com/i.php?n=3666 accessed 11/24/08.

Recommended Reading for President-Elect Obama

Are you not aware? The Poetry Foundation contacted Charles Bernstein, Patricia Smith and Forrest Gander to ask them which poem they would each recommend for President-elect Barack Obama. You can listen to the podcast at the Poetry Foundation website.

Don't want to listen to the podcast? You can check out the recommended reading as follows:

Charles Bernstein (b. 1950) recommends "The Bomb" by Carlos Drummond de Andrade (1902-1987). The poem was published in 1962 and is online here.

Patricia Smith (b. 1955) recommends "For My People" by Margaret Walker (1914-1988). The poem was published in 1942 and is online here.

Forrest Gander (b. 1956) recommends "The Blaze of the Poui" by Mark McMorris. The poem was published in 2003 and you can buy the book from the University of Georgia Press.