Poetry 365: Robert Pinsky

November 13, 2016

robertpinskyThis month for Poetry 365 we’re highlighting Robert Pinsky’s masterful new book At the Foundling Hospital.  With meditations on the gods, jazz, boyhood memories and “arbitrary” names, this latest collection from the three-term U.S. Poet Laureate boldly examines time, history, and the fluid identities of both single individuals and entire civilizations.  Trim, erudite, and musically energetic, these thirty poems are a clear reminder why Louise Glück proclaimed that “Robert Pinsky is one of the few literary artists… whose work is unquestionably major work.”  So don’t miss this outstanding new book, sample a poem below, and make sure to stop back next month for Poetry 365.

Continue reading “Poetry 365: Robert Pinsky”


Poetry 365: Chinaka Hodge

October 12, 2016

chinakahodgeThis month for Poetry 365 we’re featuring the unforgettable second collection from Chinaka Hodge.  In Dated Emcees, the Oakland-based poet, playwright, and Youth Speaks educator examines her own life through the lens of hip-hop and ’90s East Bay culture.  Mixing humor and tragedy with sharp insights into systemic racism, anger, and violence, Dated Emcees was described by Dave Eggers as “an absolute powerhouse of a book… [that] deserves a wide audience, an attentive audience, an audience that wants to be astounded.”  So check out this gem of a collection, sample a poem below, and make sure to stop back next month for Poetry 365.

Continue reading “Poetry 365: Chinaka Hodge”


Poetry 365: Kim Addonizio

August 25, 2016

kim addonizioThis month for Poetry 365 we’re featuring Kim Addonizio’s eclectic new book Mortal Trash.  Filled with allusions to classic poets such as William Shakespeare and Gerard Manley Hopkins, this seventh collection from the prolific National Book Award finalist mingles witty musings on lust and aging with weightier concerns about terrorism and global warming.  Vivid, jaded, and linguistically agile, Mortal Trash shows why the San Francisco Chronicle described Addonizio as “a master of compressed intensity who always nails the emotional image.”  So don’t miss this edgy new book, sample a poem below, and make sure to stop back next month for Poetry 365.

Continue reading “Poetry 365: Kim Addonizio”


Poetry 365: Eleanor Chai

July 25, 2016

admin-ajax.phpThis month for Poetry 365 we’re highlighting the remarkable debut collection from poet Eleanor Chai.  In Standing Water, Chai takes readers to a small Paris museum where she encounters a bust of Japaneses dancer Little Hanako by sculptor Auguste Rodin that triggers painfully complex memories of the mother erased from the poet’s life since her childhood.  Described by Mark Strand as “a masterpiece,” Colm Toibin declared, “The last poems of the book are outstanding, chiseled and perfect, line by line by line.  Standing Water is a great achievement.”  So don’t miss this hauntingly honest debut, sample the opening poem below, and make sure to stop back next month for Poetry 365.

Continue reading “Poetry 365: Eleanor Chai”


Poetry 365: Nicholas Christopher

June 10, 2016

nicholas christopherThis month for Poetry 365 we’re featuring Nicholas Christopher’s engaging new book On Jupiter Place.  Favorably compared to the work of Wallace Stevens, Elizabeth Bishop, and James Merrill, this eighth collection of poetry from the Tiger Rag author is perhaps his most personal and autobiographical work to date.  Filled with intimate portraits of his grandmother, father, and even Lois Lane, On Jupiter Place shows why W.S. Merwin described Christopher’s poems as “vibrant with light and the surprise of recognition.”  So don’t miss this engaging new book, sample a poem below, and make sure to stop back next month for Poetry 365.

Continue reading “Poetry 365: Nicholas Christopher”


Poetry 365: Jason Zuzga

May 20, 2016

This month for Poetry 365 we’re highlighting the impressive debut collection from poet Jason Zuzga.  In Heat Wake, the FENCE editor meditates on desire, the complexities of time, and the natural world while traveling through the silent Arizona desert into the suburban New Jersey of his youth.  Poet Kevin Killian raves, “For the anatomical sensations he observes, the tenderness of his sentences, his insatiate curiosity, and his experience of surrealism, we might consider Jason Zuzga the Oliver Sacks of poetry.”  So check out Heat Wake, sample a poem below, and make sure to stop back next month for Poetry 365.

Continue reading “Poetry 365: Jason Zuzga”


Poetry 365: Kevin Young

March 21, 2016

kevin-youngThis month for Poetry 365 we’re featuring Kevin Young’s impressive selected volume Blue Laws.  Perfect for those new to his work, this extensive collection includes a hefty helping of unpublished poems along with picks from his nine books including his 1995 debut Most Way Home and his 2012 American Book Award winner Ardency: A Chronicle of the Amistad Rebels.  Whether giving voice to historical figures like Jack Johnson or exploring Southern food, family, and the blues, Young’s poems – as described by Time Out New York – are “alive to their very bones, sexy and sad and true…  Like any great blues, Young’s is universal.”  So plan to spend some time with this riveting collection, sample a poem below, and make sure to stop back next month for Poetry 365.

Continue reading “Poetry 365: Kevin Young”


Poetry 365: Dean Young

February 5, 2016

Dean Young
Poet Dean Young

This month for Poetry 365 we’re highlighting Dean Young’s excellent new book Shock by Shock.  Influenced by the New York School poets and Surrealists such as Andre Breton, this twelfth collection from the Pulitzer Prize finalist is his first of all-new work since undergoing a life-saving heart transplant in 2011.  Slightly more meditative while still bursting with his trademark wit and agile imagery, these finely-crafted poems show why the American Academy of Arts and Letters named Young “one of the most inventive and satisfying poets writing today.”  So don’t miss this terrific new book, sample a library-related poem below, and make sure to stop back next month for Poetry 365.

Continue reading “Poetry 365: Dean Young”


Poetry 365

July 25, 2015

kate tempest
Poet Kate Tempest

This month for Poetry 365 we’re featuring Kate Tempest’s extraordinary long poem Brand New Ancients.  Winner of the 2012 Ted Hughes Award, the British poet/rapper/novelist’s second book of verse finds the mythic in the mundane story of half-brothers Thomas and Clive and their violently converging fates in southeast London.  Hypnotic, operatic, and “written to be read aloud,” Brand New Ancients was lauded by The Scotsman as “a torrent of poetry so brilliant that the words often seem to glow and smoke with intensity.”  So check out this powerful new voice, sample an excerpt below, and make sure to stop back next month for Poetry 365.

Continue reading “Poetry 365”


Poetry 365

May 29, 2015

erin belieu
Poet Erin Belieu

This month for Poetry 365 we’re highlighting Erin Belieu’s savvy new volume Slant Six.  Crisp and conversational, this fourth collection from the LA Times Book Prize finalist explores “politics, pop culture, and parenthood” while reflecting on “our collective moments of hypocrisy and hope” in contemporary America.  Favorably compared to the work of Frank O’Hara and Tony Hoagland, these 23 smart, satirical poems show why the NY Times praises Belieu as “a comedian of the human spirit.”  So check out this fantastic new volume, sample a poem below, and make sure to stop back next month for Poetry 365.

Continue reading “Poetry 365”


Translate »