Month: februari 2018

Reading: I am 25 by Gregory Corso
Beat poet Gregory Corso 1930-2001) was a young member of the Beat generation, 'urchin shelley' who always believed in the power of poetry to bring about change. Here is a funny verse about generational conflict between poets: I am 25 With a love a madness for Shelley Chatterton Rimbaud and the needy-yap of my youth ...
Reading: Tamer and Hawk by Thom Gunn
Thom Gunn (1929-2004), another much-honored poet, who started out using iambic pentameter, borne out of an ambition to be the John Donne of the twentieth century, writing about topics such as LSD, Hell's angels or queer culture. Later, he wrote no less heart-felt poetry in freer forms. For him, "Writing poetry has in fact become ...
Reading: Dead Animals by John Hollander
The American poet John Hollander (1929-2013) was known for his language virtuosity. His most famous book for a wider audience was his 1981 introduction to form and prosody Rhyme's Reason, a witty tour through the intricacies of poetry that you can borrow online. Some say that his poems lack personal engagement, that the emotion is ...
Reading: Murphy in Manchester by John Montague
John Montague (1929-2016), a friend of Samuel Beckett, connected the English and Irish tradition like no other. This is captured in the short poem with the resounding title 'Murphy in Manchester': Murphy in Manchester He wakes to a confused dream of boats, gulls, And all his new present floats Suddenly up to him on rocking ...
Reading: What Kind Of Times Are These by Arienne Rich
A very popular public poet, Arienne Rich (1929-2012) was also a leading feminist activist. Her poetry career stretches many decades and she was awarded many prizes. Her book 'Diving into the Wreck' is probably her most well-known publication. She is a kindred soul, who told us that "perhaps just such a passionate skepticism, neither cynical ...
Reading: Breaded Fish by A.K. Ramanujan
The Indian poet A. K. Ramanujan (1929-1993) wrote in English and Kannada, a rich language of South India. He considered himself to be the hyphen in "Indo-American" and was a respected teacher and a wonderful poet. As you can see here, in my imagination this poem has a specific Indian ring to it: Breaded Fish ...
Nachtfietserij
De geest van de oude Kamiel leeft nog, lieve mensen. Vandaag bood de interactie tussen mij en de wereld deze geest de gelegenheid om zichzelf te manifesteren zoals hij het vroeger deed, maar dit keer met het volste bewustzijn dat mijn gedrag licht autistisch is. Mijn lieve couchsurfing host Anja, met wie ik de vorige ...
Most obscure poet
I google "most obscure poet" and I find poets whose obscurity has become a brand A certain mr. Puce from a town named Truth and Consequences was engaged in wordplay A lady wrote three poems a day by the time when she was eighty the boxes had reached the ceiling Meanwhile, a child knows obscurity ...
Op de fiets
Om mijn verblijf in Nederland glansrijker te doen voorkomen dan het is heb ik mijn zinnen gezet op het maken van een bescheiden fietstocht, maar de simpele mededeling dat ik een rondje midden Nederland en velo ging doen in de kou van februari stuitte op ongeloof, verbazing en tenslotte respect. De bescheidenheid moest ik er ...