POETRY NEWS

Poetry and poet news

• HEMPRESS SATIVA: CARVING OUT A NICHE FOR ROOTS REGGAE
  The annual staging of Hempress Sativa Live will, for the third year, focus on creating a multifaceted experience for established and emerging roots-rock-reggae artistes, poets and selectors whose messages are about consciousness. It is slated for...
  jamaica-gleaner.com
• EXPATS FIND PERFORMANCE COMMUNITY IN WORDSMITHS
  On the surface, Wordsmiths is like any other open mic event, providing a space for writers to share their poetry, prose and music. But a swift dig beneath the surface reveals a community of warmth, mutual support and acceptance. Wordsmiths’
  KoreaHerald.com
• 'PREMATURE': FILM REVIEW
  There's poetry in "Premature" — literally, if not always cinematically. Zora Howard, a spoken word artist and sometime actor who reunites with director Rashaad Ernesto Green for his second feature (they collaborated more than a decade earlier on a short of the same name), plays Ayanna, a tentatively romantic Harlem teenager navigating a relationship for […]
  Variety.com
• NEAPOLIS PAYS MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO SEFERIS
  Neapolis University Paphos and the Municipality of Ayia Napa, as part of a series of events 'Seferis Days' are organising the concert 'Ballads from Giorgos Seferis΄ Poetry' at the Neapolis University amphitheatre on Wednesday, February 19 at 7pm. The mayor of Ayia Napa, Christos Zannetos, under the auspices of whom... The post Neapolis pays musical tribute to Seferis appeared first on Cyprus Mail.
  cyprus-mail.com
• THE FOX AND THE HEDGEHOG
  By Preston Wilder A 1953 essay by Isaiah Berlin, citing the ancient Greek poet Archilochus, divides the world into foxes and hedgehogs: foxes are good at many different things, hedgehogs are driven by one big thing. Parasite, the surprise – not to say shock – winner of Best Picture at... The post The fox and the hedgehog appeared first on Cyprus Mail.
  cyprus-mail.com
• DELTA GOODREM STALKER JAMES LAFFERTY DEFENDS MESSAGES AFTER GUILTY PLEA
  The man who stalked Delta Goodrem, bombarding her with love poems and turning up at her apartment, has been described as "creepy" by a magistrate who listed his very lengthy criminal history including a stalking conviction.But after...
  nzherald.co.nz
• EXILED BANGLADESHI POET DAUD HAIDER FALLS VICTIM TO CREDIT CARD FRAUD IN INDIA
  Daud Haider, an exiled Bangladeshi poet and columnist, has fallen victim to credit card fraud in India after attempting to send a large consignment of books to Germany, reports The Indian Express.
  bdnews24.com
• MEETING GROUND – NZ PART II
  In June 2019 Meeting Ground had its first outing, featuring poems from Jamaica and New Zealand. The theme then centred on fatherhood. This time around, our theme is birds from New Zealand and Jamaica. We present Part II of this exciting...
  jamaica-gleaner.com
• WHY THE THING ABOUT HARRY MATTERS
  The poet Rupi Kaur wrote in her 2017 collection The Sun and Her Flowers: representation is vital otherwise the butterfly surrounded by a group of...
  E!Online
• IS TWITTER KILLING THE WRITTEN WORD?
  If Donald Trump had anything in common with a poet, it would be Homer. Homer was a pre-literate poet from Ancient Greece, while Trump is a post-literate US president who prefers to be briefed orally, gets his news from television and boasts that he likes to read as little as possible. Homer refers to speech … Continue Reading "Is Twitter Killing the Written Word?" The post Is Twitter Killing the Written Word? appeared first on Fair Observer.
  fairobserver.com
• CHINESE POEMS ON JAPANESE DONATIONS REFLECT CULTURAL BOND
  Chinese netizens not only expressed their appreciation for Japan's recent assistance in battling the novel coronavirus, but also had a heated discussion over the ancient Chinese poems posted on the boxes of Japanese donations to China.
  Ecns.cn
• 'THE GREEN KNIGHT' TRAILER STARRING DEV PATEL DEBUTS
  A24 debuted a mysterious and fantastical trailer for Dev Patel’s upcoming film “The Green Knight,” a take on the 14th century poem “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” Patel, portraying Sir Gawain, King Arthur’s nephew and Knight of the Round Table, battles the monstrous green-skinned creature in the new footage. “I fear I’m not meant […]
  Variety.com
• PEN AMERICA TO AWARD PLAYWRIGHT TOM STOPPARD, POET M. NOURBESE PHILIP AT 2020 LITERARY AWARDS
  The pen is mightier than the sword. British playwright and screenwriter Sir Tom Stoppard and Canadian poet and novelist M. NourbeSe Philip are among the honorees being awarded in March by literary and human rights organization PEN America, the the group announced Wednesday. Stoppard, 82, will be...
  NY Daily News
• IPSWICH GIRL, 12, PUTS EXPERIENCE AS REFUGEE INTO POETRY
  Yagavi, 12, kept a secret diary of poetry until it was discovered by her parents and put into print.
  BBC News
• A NIGHT OF POETRY AND WINE
  For a taste of something different and a break from the usual Saturday night shenanigans, AHDR in partnership with Ideogramma, Home for Cooperation (h4c) and the Home Café are hosting a Poetry and Wine evening on Saturday with a theme of inclusion and integrity. Poets and poetry lovers are invited... The post A night of poetry and wine appeared first on Cyprus Mail.
  cyprus-mail.com
• JAZZ POEMS IN BLUE
  Exploring ranges of sound and the endless possibilities of combining only the best of words with music, jazz singer and composer Sara So Far will provide an ambience to lose oneself in on February 21 at her performance in Paphos. Through original compositions, drawing from jazz influences as well as... The post Jazz poems in blue appeared first on Cyprus Mail.
  cyprus-mail.com
• EMILY BLUNT REVEALS ACTING HELPED HER OVERCOME A SEVERE STUTTER
  "Once a stutterer, I feel, always a stutterer," Emily Blunt tells Marie Claire magazine about her years growing up with a speech impediment that prevented her from reading poems aloud or even saying her name as a kid.
  CNN
• DYCR READY TO REGROUP AND RESURFACE - DUB POET WINS DECADE-LONG LAWSUIT AGAINST DOWNSOUND RECORDS
  After a decade-long court battle with musical giant Downsound Records, dub poet DYCR is ready to get his career back on track. In an interview with The Gleaner, the entertainer says despite the fact that so much has changed in the industry over the...
  jamaica-gleaner.com
• CELEBRATING LOVE
  Pablo Neruda's Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines, and Anthony McNeil's the Catherine Letter are heartbreak poems that first come to mind when thinking of 'love' poems. So, too, is the sad Anabelle Lee, by Edgar Allen Poe. The poems below,...
  jamaica-gleaner.com
• WIDESPREAD OUTCRY IN CHINA OVER DEATH OF CORONAVIRUS DOCTOR
  They posted videos of the Les Misérables song, "Do You Hear the People Sing." They invoked article No. 35 of China's constitution, which stipulates freedom of speech. They tweeted a phrase from the poem "For Whom the Bell Tolls."
  bdnews24.com
• ROOMMATE CONVICTED IN FATAL STABBING OF QUEENS POET
  A Queens man was convicted of manslaughter Thursday in the 2016 stabbing of his roommate, a classmate from Bard College. Render Stetson-Shanahan plunged a knife into the neck, back, and arm of Carolyn Bush in their shared Ridgewood apartment on Sept. 28, 2016. Bush, 26, a poet and librarian, co-founded...
  NY Daily News
• JOHNNY DEPP BOARDS JULIEN TEMPLE'S SHANE MACGOWAN DOCUMENTARY
  Johnny Depp has come on board as a producer of Julien Temple's documentary about musician and poet Shane MacGowan, "Shane." Depp said: “Knowing Shane for 30 years, I am honored to be producing the definitive film on both my friend and one of the most important artists and beloved poets of the twentieth century." Temple […]
  Variety.com
• LIBRONG LIRA LAUNCHES NICK PICHAY'S POETRY BOOK
  This is a press release from Librong LIRA. Librong LIRA, the publishing arm of the Linangan sa Imahen Retorika, at Anyo (LIRA), will launch Nicolas "Nick" Pichay's poetry book, Ang Lunes na Mahirap Bunuin (The Intransigence of Mondays), on Tuesday, February 18, 7 pm to ...
  Rappler.com
• POETRY COLLAB WITH JA AND NEW ZEALAND
  In June 201,9 Meeting Ground had its first outing, featuring poems from Jamaica and New Zealand. The theme then centred on fatherhood. This time around, we give you birds from New Zealand and Jamaica. Works from New Zealand's Poet Laureate (David...
  jamaica-gleaner.com
• BOOK REVIEW: NOVELLA GOES BEYOND SCI-FI AND DELVES INTO ISSUES OF RACE, INJUSTICE
  "Riot Baby" by Tony Onyebuchi (Tor, 176 pages, in stores)Young adult author Tony Onyebuchi's first novel for grown-ups is transformational, devastating and truthful — in all the right ways."Riot Baby's" sparse but careful prose sings like poetry and bleeds authenticity from generational wounds that are as fresh today as they were hundreds of years ago.Read more on NewsOK.com
  NewsOK.com
• THE 17TH 'INTERNATIONAL NOMADS FESTIVAL': A CELEBRATION OF CULTURE
  Rabat – Musicians from around the world will descend on the Moroccan oasis town of M'hamid El Ghizlane, in the Zagora province, for the annual International Nomads Festival from March 19-21. The festival celebrates cultural diversity as many nations come together to celebrate with music, poetry, storytelling, and cultural dances. The event also welcomes foreign […] The post The 17th 'International Nomads Festival': A Celebration of Culture appeared first on Morocco World News.
  MoroccoWorldNews.com
• BROOKLYN JUDGE CITES MAYA ANGELOU POEM AS HE SINGS OF PROBATION TO MAN WHO TRIED TO SMUGGLE 13 SONGBIRDS INTO KENNEDY AIRPORT FROM GUYANA
  The caged bird sings of freedom — and a judge sang Friday of probation for a man accused of trying to smuggle Guyanese songbirds to New York. Brooklyn Federal Judge William Kuntz recited lines from Maya Angelou's poem "Caged Bird" to Alson Lynch, who pleaded guilty in 2018 to charges of illegally...
  NY Daily News
• WATCH: OKLAHOMA SINGER-SONGWRITER SAMANTHA CRAIN SINGS HAUNTING NEW SONG 'AN ECHO'
  By Brandy McDonnell Watch acclaimed Oklahoma singer-songwriter, activist and poet Samantha Crain perform her haunting new song "An Echo" in this evocative black-and-white performance video.As previously reported, the ode is from her new album, "A Small Death," which will be released May 1. The follow-up to her 2017 album "You Had Me at Goodbye" is available for pre-order at Samantha-Crain.lnk.to/ASmallDeath. "I've been away.Read more on NewsOK.com
  NewsOK.com
• WATCH MEPS SING 'AULD LANG SYNE' AFTER BREXIT DEAL PASSES
  After a long, drawn out fight, the United Kingdom will formally withdraw from the European Union. MEPs concluded the European Parliament's Brexit vote by singing "Auld Lang Syne," which was written by Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1788.
  CNN
• 'SERGIO': FILM REVIEW
  There is a Robert Frost poem called “Escapist – Never” which provides a frequent refrain in Greg Barker’s deeply admiring but drawn-out biopic of Brazilian diplomat and U.N. leading light Sergio Vieira de Mello. “It is the future that creates his present,” runs the penultimate line, and the handsome, heroic, charismatic de Mello (played with […]
  Variety.com
• REVENGE OF THE ALBATROSS: SEABIRDS EXPOSE ILLICIT FISHING
  Paris (AFP) Jan 27, 2020 For the magnificent but maligned albatross, it was time for a little payback after centuries of insult and injury. Snagged by longlines, tangled in nets, shot at by sailors, and scorned by poets as lazy or a bad omen, the world's largest flying seabird is today a front-line agent in the fight against illegal fishing, according to a study published Monday. Indeed, a squadron of 169 albatr
  Terra Daily
• KOBE BRYANT'S 'DEAR BASKETBALL' IS NOW AVAILABLE TO WATCH FOR FREE
  Kobe Bryant’s studio has released his Oscar-winning short, “Dear Basketball” for free following his death on Sunday. Granity Studio, Bryant’s multimedia production company, made the short film available on the dearbasketball.com website and on Vimeo. The Academy Award-winning film, narrated by Bryant, is based on a poem he wrote in November 2015 in The Players’ […]
  Variety.com
• BRYANT'S FAMOUS POEM 'DEAR BASKETBALL'
  Watch Kobe Bryant's poem 'Dear Basketball', written when the five-time NBA champion retired in 2016, following reports the basketball legend has died in a helicopter crash.
  BBC News
• MDC PAYING LIP SERVICE TO CORRUPTION INVESTIGATIONS
  Opposition MDC-Alliance must be religious followers of Mario Cuomo's famous dictum: "You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose." A press conference held on Friday
  OnlineNigeria.com
• SUGATHAKUMARI BAGS V A KESAVAN MEMORIAL AWARD
  Sugathakumari (File photo: Mathrubhumi archives / Binulal G) Thrissur: Poet Sugathakumari bagged this year's V A Kesavan Memorial Award instituted by Tomyas Advertising. The award comprises a purse of Rs 1 lakh and a sculpture. The award was instituted in memory of freedom fighter and journalist V A Kesavan, said Tomyas Managing Director Thomas Pavaratti. Poet V Madhusoodanan Nair will present the award to Sugathakumari at her residence in Thiruvananthapuram on February 1 at 11 am.
  Mathrubhumi.com
• SHEFFIELD MUM FINDS STRANGER'S POEM WHERE DAUGHTER DIED
  Sharon Green has left flowers for the past two decades - this year there was a poem waiting for her.
  BBC News
• 'FALLING': FILM REVIEW
  Viggo Mortensen may have three Oscar nominations to his name, but I get the feeling most folks still don't take the guy seriously enough. Maybe they don't realize that, in addition to his acting work, Mortensen is also a painter, a poet, a photographer and a musician. When "The Lord of the Rings" made him […]
  Variety.com
• AARON HERNANDEZ'S FIANCéE SHARES POEM ABOUT STRENGTH FOLLOWING NETFLIX DOCUSERIES
  Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, the former fiancée of the late Aaron Hernandez, took to Instagram on Thursday to share a poem with her followers. "She made broken look beautiful and...
  E!Online
• COPS HOLD SON IN SHOOTING DEATH OF HIS MOTHER; BROOKLYN NEIGHBORS MOURN DEVOUT FRIEND
  A Brooklyn woman cops say was shot to death by her own son was a devout church goer who shared poetry and bible verses with her neighbors. Debra White, 63, was shot in the face Monday night in her second-floor apartment in the Sumner Houses on Park Ave. and Broadway in Bedford-Stuyvesant, cops...
  NY Daily News
• ARTIVISM GIVES FACE TO ILOILO'S VULNERABLE PUBLIC MARKETS
  ILOILO CITY, Philippines – "Ang akun banwa yara sa nawum sing tienda (The face of our hometown is mirrored by our public market)," said Ilongga poet and artist Kristine Buenavista, one of the founders of Artivism Iloilo, as she reflected on their recent activity at Barotac Viejo's Public ...
  Rappler.com
• LISTENING TO AMERICA'S POET LAUREATE
  By Joe HeimThe Washington PostJoy Harjo, 68, is the 23rd poet laureate of the United States. A member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, she is the first Native American to hold the position. Q: When you're asked to be poet laureate, is that something you say yes to immediately, or do you think about what it entails? A: I said yesRead more on NewsOK.com
  NewsOK.com
• SRK, DEEPIKA AND B-TOWN CELEBS GRACE JAVED AKHTAR'S BIRTHDAY PARTY
  lyricist-poet Javed Akhtar three day long birthday party wrapped up in Mumbai on Friday. Several B-town celebs attended the party.
  IANS India
• IN FIRST POEM READING OF REIWA ERA, JAPAN'S EMPEROR SPEAKS OF HOPE FOR CHILDREN'S FUTURES
  Emperor Naruhito expressed his hope for a bright future for children in his poem recited Thursday at the first New Year's Poetry Reading Ceremony held since he ascended to the chrysanthemum throne last year. (Japan Times)
  NewsOnJapan
• B-TOWN CELEBS ATTEND JAVED AKHTAR'S RETRO THEMED BIRTHDAY PARTY
  lyricist-poet Javed Akhtar turns a older yesterday. He hosted a retro themed birthday party at his residence on Thursday in Mumbai.
  IANS India
• EMPEROR HOPES FOR CHILDREN'S BRIGHT FUTURE IN FIRST POEM READING
    TOKYO, Japan – Emperor Naruhito expressed his hope for a bright future for children in his poem recited Thursday, January 16, at the first annual New Year Poetry Reading Ceremony held after he ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne last year. The 59-year-old became emperor after his father, former Emperor Akihito, ...
  Rappler.com
• 2020: MILLENNIUM OF PERSIAN POET FERDOWSI
  Anniversaries are important; they celebrate legacies and signify presence and continuity. This year, 2020, marks the 1000th anniversary of Ferdowsi's death. This renowned Persian poet died at age 81 in 1020, more than five centuries before Shakespeare was born. Ferdowsi has not only endured for a thousand years but has also defined the very identity and language of his own country - Iran. This is, indeed, a great achievement for a poet or for any person, for that matter. -Rasoul Shams
  payvand.com
• OPRAH TELLS TINA FEY MAYA ANGELOU'S ADVICE ABOUT TURNING 50
  Oprah Winfrey is sharing with Tina Fey the advice she once received from the late poet Maya Angelou about getting older. The 65-year-old executive was joined by the 49-year-old Modern Love actress at Oprah‘s 2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus Tour – presented by WW (Weight Watchers Reimagined – at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday [...]
  JustJared
• RICHIE INNOCENT RECEIVES GLOBAL DUB POETRY AWARD
  Dub Poet Richie Innocent recently received a certificate of Excellence at the Sarabita Masters Awards in New York for his contribution to the global advancement of dub poetry. The Kingston-born poet, who is known for poems such as Where Are The...
  jamaica-gleaner.com
• MUTA HOPES POPCAAN RETURNS WITH NEW PERSPECTIVE - ARTISTE HONOURS ANCESTORS AT CAPE COAST CASTLE
  Prominent Jamaican dub poet, broadcaster and social activist Mutabaruka, while pointing out that the media has not made a big enough deal of last year being dubbed 'The Year of Return' by Ghana, says he hopes that dancehall star Popcaan will return...
  jamaica-gleaner.com
• RESTORED FOOTAGE AT CENTRE OF 'MISHIMA' DOCUMENTARY ON CONTROVERSIAL LITERARY FIGURE
  Restored footage of an infamous Tokyo University debate between controversial Japanese poet and novelist Yukio Mishima and university students is the centerpiece of a documentary "Mishima: The Last Debate" by Keisuke Toyoshima, which will be released theatrically in Japan in March. Mishima, real name Hiraoka Kimitake, is known equally as one of Japan's most important […]
  Variety.com