Library Walk: Yeats

Born on this day in 1865, William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) is considered one of the best poets of the 20th century. A native of Dublin, Ireland, W.B. Yeats was one of the co-founders of what came to be known as the Tragic Generation. Comprised of a dozen London-based poets the poets of the Tragic Generation sought to create art that documented the mood of Victorian London. Also known as the Rhymers' Club the collective would publish two anthologies of poetry in quick order — first in 1892 and again two years later.

Library of Congress Appoints Natasha Trethewey To Second Term as U.S. Poet Laureate

WASHINGTON --Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has appointed Natasha Trethewey to serve a second term as U.S. Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry.

"The Library and the country are fortunate Natasha Trethewey will continue her work as Poet Laureate," said Billington. "Natasha’s first term was a resounding success, and we could not be more thrilled with her plans for the coming year."

Ms. Trethewey’s first term as the 19th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry was noteworthy for her "Office Hours," during which she met with the general public in the Library’s Poetry Room—harkening back to a tradition established by her predecessors in the post from 1937 to 1986. For her second year, Trethewey will move beyond the capital to seek out the many ways poetry lives in communities across the country and addresses issues and concerns of Americans.

To Chuck

Charles Longstreet 1947-2013. Father. Friend. Dharma Bum of Barra de Navidad.

(I have no words to express the loss of one of the co-founders of the Bar None Group. But Charles Longstreet's best friend of more than 40 years and fellow co-founder of the Bar None Group, Russell Rosander does. With love, affection and a clean sheet of paper.)

   
Hey Chuck.
   
I know you´ve got a lot of heavy reality goin´ on at the moment, so I thought I´d send a little imaginin´ your way.  I know they´re givin´ you some mind alterin´ substances right now, but maybe you can imagine this along with me. I figure some pleasant thoughts can´t hurt.
   
Anyway, this is how it starts out.

Coffee Cup Complaint

—  for all the dharma bums,
              hanging out beneath broken
              down bridges


I want to rant like a over sexed rooster, staggering toward    
  some decadent hen house full of skeletal politicians,
      I want to blow out the pilot light on the stove
        in White Houses that compose songs about burning      
  wheatfields and magnifying glasses that inspect
      the lovers in every bedroom in America.

Le Fée Verte, Absinthe

Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris

in the wilderness of those green hours
gliding with the faerie muse along café
walls virescent, sighing jonquil wings of
poetry, inventing tales in the sooty red

The Art of Futbol

"Goal" by Teresa Puente

The beautiful game, the world's game, is an art unto itself. For the world's best soccer players, the pitch is a blank canvas where works of art are created game by game through skill and athleticism. For artists, soccer is the inspiration for their art. The Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer brings the two together for the third annual Art of Futbol art exhibition on Thursday, May 16.

Hotel Caribe

I heard the cry of your soul.
The low keening moan
That crescendos into a howl.
I saw your face etched with pain,
The smell of death upon your breath.

I Was There Too

Child,
I was there,
Behind the lens.
Although you can't see me,
I saw all there was to see,
Capturing all I could,
From behind the lens.