Diane Lockward's Blog, page 49

A Literary Salon

This past Sunday I went to a literary salon held in celebration of the publication of The Atheist's Prayer, a new poetry collection by Madeline Tiger. This event was arranged by Jessica deKoninck and held at her house. Twenty people attended—friends, students, and fellow poets. Many of us there could claim to be all three.



Madeline was my very first poetry teacher, probably about 20 years ago. She led the first workshop I ever took. I sat there nervous and not sure I belonged. She made me...

5 Questions for Lauren B. Davis at She Writes

(Click for Amazon)

Several months ago novelist Lauren B. Davis hosted me at a poetry reading at Trinity Church in Princeton, NJ, where she is writer-in-residence. Because I admired her energy, candor, and intelligence, I bought and read her novel, The Radiant City. The same qualities I found in Lauren, I found in the book. It's one of those books you don't want to end. History and current events are brilliantly woven into the plot, which is complicated and dark, but with an ending that sugges...

Interview at The Bees' Knees

Poet Nicelle Davis has posted an interview with me at her blog, "The Bees' Knees." She asks me several questions about my book, What Feeds Us, particularly about the book's construction and the significance I attach to bees. She also asks about my involvement in the poetry community, my future projects, and my advice for beginning poets. To give you a sample, here's the first question and my response:

ND: Your book What Feeds Us made me incredibly hungry for lush and savory food. Is there a d...

David Crews Reads His Poem "Middle of the Night Blues" at Poetry Festival

This past Sunday, May 16, was the annual Poetry Festival: A Celebration of Literary Journals. I've been running this event for seven years now, each time at my local library. Seven years ago I thought it would be a one shot thing. But it went so well and the librarians wanted to do it again, so we did a second year. Same story.



I invite 12 editors to come with their journals, all print journals. They set up in the Reference Room, each editor getting half a table for their journals...

David Crews Reads His Poem "House" at Poetry Festival

This past Sunday, May 17, was the annual Poetry Festival: A Celebration of Literary Journals. I've been running this event for seven years now, each time at my local library. Seven years ago I thought it would be a one shot thing. But it went so well and the librarians wanted to do it again, so we did a second year. Same story.

I invite 12 editors to come with their journals, all print journals. They set up in the Reference Room, each editor getting half a table for their journals...

Poetry Festival: Short Video

Yesterday's festival went really well. In spite of losing one of our 24 poets earlier in the week and two more poets and an entire journal on Saturday, everything worked out very well. One of the editors read for one of the missing poets who was ill, and we used the extra time left by the missing journal for more browsing and poetry conversation. We had a good turnout, heard lots of wonderful poetry, sold journals, sold books, had a lot of fun.

There are dozens of photos posted on Facebook, bu...

Poetry Festival Schedule

Maria Mazziotti Gillan, Jose Rodriguez, Lesley Heywood at the 2009 Festival

POETRY FESTIVAL:
A CELEBRATION OF LITERARY JOURNALS

Schedule of Readings (times are approximate)

1:20-1:30—Welcome

1:30-1:40—Schuylkill Valley Review: Terry Culleton, Hayden Saunier

1:40-1:50—Tiferet: Therese Halscheid, Penny Harter

1:50-2:00—Lips: Jim Gwyn, Gloria Healy

(20 minute break)

2:20-2:30—Journal of New Jersey Poets: John Bargowski, Charlotte Mandel

2:30-2:40—US 1 Worksheets: Kathe Palka, John Trause

2:40-2:50—Raintown...

Poetry Festival: A Celebration of Literary Journals

Sunday, May 16, 2010
Poetry Festival: A Celebration of Literary Journals
12 Journals and Editors
Edison Literary Review, Exit 13, Journal of New Jersey Poets,
Lips, New York Quarterly, Painted Bride Quarterly,
Paterson Literary Review,
Raintown Review, Schuylkill Valley Review, Tiferet,
US 1 Worksheets, and Up & Under

Journals will be available along with subscription and submission information.
Editors will answer questions about publishing.
24 poets will read throughout the afternoon.
Books will be...

Countdown to Publication: Proofreading the Galleys

I don't think that the job of proofreading the galleys can be called "fun," but it's a job that has to be taken very seriously. The mistakes you miss in the galleys will become part of your book, there for everyone to see, especially you! So this is a job that needs to be done painstakingly and repeatedly. It can't be rushed and it can't be done when you're tired.

I recently finished this job for my coming-forth-very-soon new book, Temptation by Water. The galleys for my first book, in 2003, c...

The Poet on the Poem: Deborah Bogen

I've often admired Deborah Bogen's poems in journals. I was delighted when I learned that she had a new book out and also delighted when she agreed to be this month's poet for The Poet on the Poem.

Deborah Bogen's poems and reviews appear widely in journals including Shenandoah, The Gettysburg Review, The Georgia Review, Margie, Poetry International, and Field. Her work has been featured on Poetry Daily and Verse Daily. Her full-length collection, Landscape with Silos, won the 2005 X.J. Kenned...