(Quick note: Our programmers are going to be working on our blogs starting tonight around 10 p.m. and going through to Friday morning. Please don't post any comments during this time, because they'll likely be wiped out. As always, I advise saving a copy of your poem in some other program to make sure you don't lose your only copy.)

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So we meet again. I'm just going to pick up where we left off on the Wednesday poetry prompts. Hope you're having a good May so far.

For today's prompt, I want you to write a spring-related poem. This will probably be easier for people (like myself) who live in the Northern Hemisphere, since spring is now in full swing in most places. When you're dealing with a subject as big as an entire season, it's probably best to focus in on something very specific and use spring as the background. But you do what you gotta do.

Here's my attempt for the day:

"Doppler"

There aren't tornado sirens in Gwinnett
County, Georgia. Instead, they sell weather
radios at Kroger. Everyone
does not buy them. Those who don't, throw caution
to the wind. When their time comes, it comes fast
and furious. It comes without warning.

I just finished having a great time on J.P. Dancing Bear's "Out of Our Minds" poetry show on KKUP Cupertina. It was a lot fun--mostly because Bear has a real laid back approach to handling the show.

We discussed the April PAD Challenge, the Poetic Asides blog, Poet's Market, poetry submission worst practices, the importance of poet perseverance, and so much more. Bear was even kind enough to let me read 10 of my poems during the show.

If anyone was able to catch the show, I'd love to hear what you thought.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with this previously unpublished poem, which I read during the show:

Watching Godzilla with my sons and trying to write

The story is written on the cave walls:
Ben asks why humans have so many wars
as Jonah stabs him with a plastic sword.

The make believe is over now: Turn off
the lights and buy insurance for your space
ship. If I had superpowers, I would
not create a Clark Kent identity.
Secrets always lead to super villains.

Jonah stuffs his Batman utility
belt down the back of his pants to become
Godzilla and roars, "I will never die."

If you want a way to continue the poetry beyond April, WritersOnlineWorkshops.com is now taking registrations for its Fundamentals of Poetry Writing workshop. The online course begins April 23 (registration closes April 30) and will be taught by published writer Joyce Ferman Wells. The course consists of six sessions and costs $350. Plus, those who register receive a Best of Writer's Digest Interviews CD.

If interested, check it out here: http://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/retail/courses.aspx?r=fundamentals-of-poetry-writing.

WritersOnlineWorkshops.com offers online courses throughout the year in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, etc. You can check out the current offerings across all genres by going to www.writersonlineworkshops.com.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

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Jacqueline Cartier, media relations with NPR, shared the following link with me earlier this week: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100619363

It's a poetry slam for Valentine's Day! Check out the link to hear some cool poems.

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The Poetry Foundation lists more than 1,200 love poems here: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/tool.poem.cat.2.1.html?id=7

If you need a Valentine's Day idea, you can always e-mail a favorite poem from this link to that extra special person.

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Here's another Valentine's Day idea: Why not write a love poem for the one you love? I did so last Valentine's Day, and now I'm married to her. To check out that poem, go here: http://blog.writersdigest.com/poeticasides/Will+You+Be+My+Valentine.aspx

I'm not saying you'll get married if you write a love poem, but it doesn't hurt, eh?

Since I'm a man of routines, here's my Valentine's Day poem for this year:

You
-For Tammy Brewer

found me in airports. You found me
in bookstores. You found me on the
streets of Manhattan. I made you
mix CDs. We listened as we
drove to Yellow Springs, to Helen.
We fell in love as we wandered
along nature trails and city
streets--both walking at the same pace,
letting the others run past us.

If you are, then would you be willing to share your experiences with the rest of the Poetic Asides audience who are not able to attend (or who cannot sit in on every event--because, let's face it, there are soooooo many of them)?

If you're interested, just email updates at any time between 2/11 and 2/15 (the day after the event is over) to robert.brewer@fwmedia.com with the subject line of "AWP Update".

Please include your name so that you can get full credit for sharing the information. (If you have a website or blog, please include a URL with your name as well.)

Examples of things you could report on include:

• Cool sessions you attend.
• Great deals happening at publisher booths.
• Parties you might be attending (or hosting).
• Anything else that's going on or that strikes you.

Since this is a "first" for Poetic Asides, I'm not sure how well this will work (if at all), but I think it would be neat for those who have not experienced AWP or who won't be able to experience this year or who will be attending different sessions, parties, etc.

Depending upon participation, I'll try making frequent updates.

I've been meaning to do my annual post on The Best American Poetry anthology for 2008 for some time now, but I keep not getting to it. So, here we go.

As usual, David Lehman is the series editor for this anthology, with Charles Wright as the guest editor. I've found that the poems in the anthology can vary greatly in style from guest editor to guest editor--and that's a good thing.

I haven't read the entire anthology yet, but the selections have been very good so far. Some of my favorite poets are included, and there are some new (to me) names in the bunch.

But the true value of this anthology is not the actual poetry, though that is a very nice bonus. The real value for other poets are the Contributors' Notes and Comments in the back of the book, where poets write about their poems, including what inspired their poems, forms they were using, etc.

That's why I always recommend purchasing a BAP every single year. There's the inspiration of great poems, but also so much insight into the crafting of the poetry.

Here's a free writing contest: http://www.writersdigest.com/redheartblackheart

The basic concept behind this free writing contest is that you can write a poem, essay, or letter that either celebrates love or tears love down.  Here are the categories:

* Love Poem
* Black-Hearted Love Poem
* Love Letter
* Rejection Letter (as in rejected love letter)
* Essay on Love at First Sight
* Essay on Lost Love

The deadline is February 6--so this sounds like a good weekend project.

The prize is a $250 shopping spree to the Writer's Digest online store, in addition to several other very cool benefits.

To check out all the details, go to http://www.writersdigest.com/redheartblackheart

And have a great weekend! On Monday (Groundhog Day), I'll be sharing the results of the November PAD Chapbook Challenge. (Even the winner has no idea who he or she is.)

...on a day when I speak of trying to rid abstraction from your poetry that Elizabeth Alexander's poem for the inauguration of Barack Obama would rely on abstraction. I'm not trying to say the poem was bad, because it moved me. It just figures is all--and it helps show that even the best and most basic rules of poetry can be broken depending upon your audience and occasion.

You can find text of the inaugural poem, "Praise Song for the Day," here: http://www.nowpublic.com/world/barack-obamas-inaugural-poem-praise-song-day-full-text

It took me a while to find a copy this afternoon, but there it is.

I loved the ending (which was about as abstract as you can get): "praise song for walking forward in that light."

"That light" is mentioned earlier in the poem as "Love that casts a widening pool of light."

This poem may not work for everyone, but, for me, it achieved the goal of every inauguration day, which is to bring everyone together in a peaceful transition of power from one president to the next.

Also, the timing of the poem being read was very nice. Alexander read her poem directly after Obama gave his inauguration speech.

For something kinda cool and really freaky, check out this piece from the NY Times blogs: http://ideas.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/dead-poets-animated-society/

Apparently, an animator by the name of Jim Clark has taken old photos of poets, such as Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson, and brought them to life so that it appears the poets are reciting some of their best known poems.

I know I'm a day late on the Happy New Year post (and that I completely missed the Wednesday Poetry Prompt), but I've been very preoccupied with the family this past week. You see, I've had all four of my boys since Saturday--so we've been playing games, watching movies, going to playgrounds, attending family gatherings, etc. We've been totally familying (new word) it up this week.

I believe in setting goals. So, I guess I'm going to share my New Year Poetry Resolutions. If you want to, feel free to share yours as well in the comments below.

1. Write at least one first draft of a poem each week. (Should be do-able if I can manage to not miss any Wednesday Poetry Prompts--or PAD Challenges--in 2009.)

2. Submit poems at least once each week. (This is the one I always have trouble keeping.)

3. Revise at least one poem each week. (Preferably more.)

4. Assemble a collection to submit around to publishers.

5. Attend more poetry readings/events/etc. this year than last.

6. Read at least 2-3 collections of poetry each month.

7. Live, learn, and love!!!!!

Tammy and I have been busy preparing for Baby Will (due between now and 12/19--Tammy's scheduled C-section date). In addition, I've been putting in overtime on www.WritersMarket.com related stuff, teaching poetry courses at www.WritersOnlineWorkshops.com, and even helping out with some poetry-related issues on www.WritersDigest.com. While things have definitely been hectic, I've still been finding time to write and even made a new submission over the weekend. After all, poets don't make excuses; they write, right?

Anyway, I've talked with many writers over the years who say they don't "have time" to write. Or they're stuck on a line and can't seem to move ahead. Of course, they've often not written down that line that's got them blocked, which is a problem in and of itself.

So, here are some of my poet survival tips:

1. Always carry two pens. Pens are to poets as six-shooters are to cowboys. You need them to survive. Why two? Because if you're using your pens, one is sure to run out of ink at some point, which is when you pull out the back up writing utensil.

2. Always carry paper. I fold up one or two pieces of paper to carry with me at all times. Paper fits easily in pockets when folded. By following rules #1 and #2, you should be ready to write regardless of when inspiration strikes. If you can only carry pens or paper, always carry the pens.

3. Keep receipts--if you're without paper. While I almost never forget my pens, I do sometimes forget the paper. And receipts come in handy for overcoming my forgetfulness. I've actually written whole first drafts of poems on the back of receipts from the grocery, fast food, etc. Of course, a poet always has to be resourceful in this area--other surfaces that work are paper placemats, napkins, flyers, and, of course, even your own body.

4. Text yourself. If all else fails, you can always use your cell phone (if you have one with texting capabilities) to send lines to your e-mail account. Or you can save as drafts on your actual phone, though you'll want to make sure you have plenty of memory on your phone before doing this.

5. Keep paper pads or Post-It notes at your desk. Preferably, you'll have both. Whenever images or lines hit me, I scrawl them onto Post-Its. At lunch (or over the weekend), I can then look the lines and images over and see if I have the makings of a poem.

Bonus (and maybe most important) Tip:

Take it one line (or image) at a time. When an idea hits you, don't hold onto it and wait for more to arrive before getting it down on paper. Record that line or image immediately. If there's more on the verge of coming, it will come then. If not, you've just freed your mind to think of new related or un-related images and lines. If you want to get into the habit of always writing, this is the most sure fire way to get there.

If you're already Twittering, you can now follow me at http://twitter.com/robertleebrewer.

If you're not already Twittering, you can go check it out at http://twitter.com. Blogging poets should definitely look into this interesting (and free) online tool that allows people to concisely post updates, links, etc., to their "followers." Once you set up an account, definitely feel encouraged to follow me.

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If you want to see how this relates to you as a poet, then check out this link from the World Class Poetry Blog at http://www.worldclasspoetryblog.com/23-things-poets-can-do-with-twitter/11/21/2008/. This post compiles 23 things poets can do with Twitter.

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And if you want other poets to follow you, feel free to share your Twitter profile URLs below in the comments.

Okay, we're getting closer to November, which for some writers of fiction means it's getting closer to NaNoWriMo time. (Btw, NaNoWriMo translates into National Novel Writing Month.) There are would be novelists lining up to attempt writing 50,000 words or more during the month of November. There's even a NaNoWriMo website you can visit to check out this phenomenon at www.nanowrimo.org.

Anyway, that's all fine and good for those who write fiction. But what are the poets who don't write fiction supposed to do during November? After all, their fiction writing pals are all busy cramming 50,000 words into their laptops and hard drives.

I'm thinking it might be a neat idea to try writing a poem a day in November with the view of trying to have the makings of a chapbook heading into December. If there's enough interest, I would challenge myself and others to write a poem-a-day (as we did in April). I'll provide a prompt-a-day as well to try and help get the poetic juices flowing each day, but you can decide to follow or ignore the prompt as you see fit. After all, our main goal would be to have 30ish poems at the end of the month that you can then try turning into a chapbook submission (or heck, I guess you could self-publish, if that's the route you want to take).

I can tell you now that I won't have the time to highlight poems (as I did in April). But if there's enough interest, I will definitely work to do the prompt and poem each day. So, if you're interested in taking part in such a challenge with me, please let me know in the comments below this post.

Just realized that poets can sign up for my upcoming Advanced Poetry course at WritersOnlineWorkshops.com. There are no required texts, but there will be workshopping, communicating and new poems.

If you're interested, you can learn more at http://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/retail/courses.aspx?r=advanced-poetry-Writing-workshop.

The course begins on November 6th and lasts 6 weeks. Hope to see you there.

On September 22, I posted about a few sites that have poetry calendars in some prominent areas--mainly as a result of looking for events in my new home of Atlanta, Georgia. And many poets chimed in with other sites, in addition to my very, very short list.

Collected together, here are those for the U.S.:

• Atlanta, Georgia http://www.poetryatlanta.blogspot.com
• New York City http://www.poetz.com/calendar
• Chicago http://chicagopoetry.com
• Southern California http://www.poetix.net/calendar.htm
• Las Vegas www.localendar.com/public/VegasPoetry
• Texas http://texaspoetryevents.info/
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania http://www.poetz.com/pittsburgh/index.htm
• Boston, Massachusetts http://www.poetz.com/boston/
• Western Massachusetts and Connecticut www.poetrynewscalendar.com
• North Carolina http://ncpoetlaureate.blogspot.com/
• New Jersey http://old.pccc.edu/poetry/
• New Jersey, Part 2 http://njpoetspoetry.blogspot.com/
• Minnesota www.minnesotapoetry.com
• Kansas City (Kansas and Missouri) http://www.newletters.org/eventsReading.asp
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania http://freecal.brownbearsw.com/PhillyPoetry

Here are ones from outside the States:

• Dublin, Ireland: http://www.poetryireland.ie/whats-on/
• Western Ireland http://theroadlesstraveledireland.com
• Ottawa, Canada http://www.bywords.ca
• Toronto, Canada http://www.patchysquirrel.ca/
• Alberta, Canada http://www.strollofpoets.com/index.php

As you probably know, Poetic Asides is just one piece of the entire Writer's Digest family of products and services, including Writer's Digest magazine, Writer's Digest books, WritersOnlineWorkshops.com, and our Writer's Digest competitions and events.

To help us know how best to serve writers, we like to regularly solicit feedback. So as part of that effort, I'd appreciate it if you could complete the following online survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Ox_2ffJVyz6aAaNDanqXHM_2fA_3d_3d.

It'll ask you questions about all of the writing community, including what you like best about what we're currently doing and directions you'd like to see us take in the future to help you achieve (or maintain) success as a writer.

Those who complete the survey will receive a special coupon code for 25% off anything in the “Writing” section of the F+W Bookstore.

Lately, there have been a lot of pieces on putting together poetry from other people's words (or imagining what others would say). Here are some I've noticed:

* There Once Was a Soccer Mom From Alaska... (Actually Alice Pope led me to this one. Thanks, Alice!)

* The Poetry of Sarah Palin

* We hereby nominate Al Davis as poet laureate of Oakland

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Also, as an extra, here are some poems actually by Barack Obama.

Okay, this question has been coming up a lot recently in the comments section of this blog: What counts as previously published? And, in relation to this blog, does posting a poem in the comments of this blog mean it's "published"?

Before I begin, I think it would be beneficial for you to read this post from former co-blogger and Poet's Market editor Nancy Breen about the whole publishing question in "Published is Published!"

For Individual Poems

Many editors consider anything published anywhere at any time under any circumstances as published. This can even include public readings. And if a publication specifies what they consider published in their guidelines, it would behoove a poet (or any writer really) to respect the editor's considerations.

With such editors, a poem posted anywhere counts as publication, whether it's posted in a public forum or blog, or even a private, password-protected location online. In such cases, poems posted on this blog would be considered "previously published." However, there are editors who take a slightly different view.

Some editors consider a poem unpublished if it only displays on a personal blog and/or is in a "draft" form in a forum or blog. That is, if your poem on Poetic Asides is only a rough draft and not the final version, it would not be considered "previously published." If editors do not specify what they consider previously published, there's a good chance they fall into this camp.

For Poetry Collections

Except for rare cases, most editors/publishers of poetry collections accept previously published poems as long as the collection itself has not been previously published. Actually, the fact that poems are previously published usually helps in getting the collection published. That said, do NOT try to use poems posted on a personal blog or public forum as a publishing credit. Such credits hold little weight, since there is usually no screening process, because eveyone can get published.

My main point here is that individual poems that are considered published by journals can still be considered unpublished as components of a poetry collection. And that even individual poems that are considered published are welcome in "original" collections of poems.

In fact, "new collections" can be made from selecting poems from previous full-length collections and chapbooks.

So, How Should Poets Proceed?

Armed with your knowledge of what is and is not considered published, you've just got to pick your battles and act accordingly. For instance, most of my poems are not published on my blog, because I want to have as many publishing options available to me as possible. I share drafts of these "unpublished" poems with close poet friends to solicit feedback for revisions.

The poems I post as parts of prompts, I consider "published," though I would not use it as a publishing credit if I tried including any of them in a collection, because I also consider my poems on this blog to be "vanity publication credits." I make an informed decision to write a poem a week just for the act of creation.

Considering how much money most published poets make anyway, I don't view this as such a bad decision. But every poet has to make this decision on their own.

So as part of my upcoming move from Southwest Ohio to Northwest Georgia, I've been interested in what the poetry scene is like in the Atlanta area. And lucky for me, there is a website dedicated to poetry events in the area.

The site is called Poetry Atlanta, Inc., and it was created by Dan Veach, editor of the Atlanta Review. If you're interested, check it out at http://www.poetryatlanta.blogspot.com.

So that got me wondering about other areas, and here's a short list of calendars from particular cities:

For NYC, there's the ultimate NYC poetry calendar by Marc Rubin at http://www.poetz.com/calendar.

For Chicago, there's C.J. Laity's http://chicagopoetry.com.

And then, there is the Poetix poetry calendar for Southern California at http://www.poetix.net/calendar.htm.

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If you have up-to-date poetry calendars from other areas, please share them with everyone in the comments below. Thanks!

Okay, I've been in hiding recently because so many poets have been hounding me over who is the winner of the first ever fake bio contest on Poetic Asides. The great thing about this contest is that writers didn't need to have any "real" credits to enter--just a great imagination of what they'd like to have in their bio notes. That said, the competition was fierce--with many entrants owning impressive "real" bios.

Anyway, the judging was difficult, especially as I got closer and closer to narrowing down the field to 8 finalists from which to pick the winner. To build the suspense and share some of the fake bios I found most interesting, here are the 7 finalists who did not win:

Pris Campbell's poetry book, Sucky Relationships, was just turned into an award-winning movie, directed by Clint Eastwood. She will be featured on Dr. Phil and Oprah where she'll moderate participant's arguments about which partner sucked the most. She is currently being sued by all six of her ex-husbands who demand parts in the movie as their award. She lives with her pet monkey on an island off of Maine where she's hard at work on a sequel. Jib-Jab plans to spearhead a drive to make her poet laureate for 'making poetry relevant to the people' again.

Pris Campbell |camprisAT NOSPAMbellsouth dot net

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Kellian Angelou is famous and well-known for winning the Pullet's Surprise, the No Bell Piece Prize, and the Mack Arthur Genie Grant for her poetry collection exploring the uncertainty of scales, The Waistland. The Waistland is a corset of sonnets dealing with the tragic difficulty of being a size 14 in a world of zeros. Kellian received her MFA from the I-Owe-ya Writers Workshop. She currently lives with her wild emu, Walt, in the Northwest.

Kelli Agodon |kelliAT NOSPAMagodon dot com

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Caili Wilk has been awarded the Emily Dickinson accolade for her upcoming work titled, “I am so old”. At age 32, this will be her first award for poetry; however as a teenager she received a bronze certificate for her entry into the middle school song contest. Miss Wilk is most well known for her attempt to break the world record for typing out the letter P on a keyboard; however, after 5,328,685 times, she collapsed muttering “I need to pee”. Inconsequently, she retired to her bathroom, and has not been seen in public since developing severe typophobia.

Caili Wilk |cailiwilkAT NOSPAMgmail dot com

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Robert McDermott was intended to be the reincarnation of Robert Lowell but owing to a clerical error is actually the reincarnation of John Berryman. His poetry is quite remarkable and is easily the best on his ward. He is currently writing an opera about oranges and in his next life he wants to be a Shakespearean villain. His latest collection 'In conversation with Kilgore Trout' has attracted wide praise and is available in spirit everywhere.

Robert McDermott |robertmcdermottAT NOSPAMgmail dot com

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Odoacer Pinkyring Moses de la Salle Cuthbert-Jones is that weird guy who lives in the van parked across the street from your house. He is allergic to everything, especially air and water. His most recent book, the title of which is unpronounceable in any human language, spent 30 seconds at the top of the best seller list in the Autonomous Republic of Erewhon. One day he will destroy you all.

Matthew Falk |mdfalkAT NOSPAMsvsu dot edu

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Jonathan Pinnock is the author of "Apathy: A 21st Century Manifesto". He'd tell you more about himself if he could be bothered.

Jonathan Pinnock |jonAT NOSPAMjpassoc dot co dot uk

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Shaindel Beers, the once promising young poet, has decided after reading many literary journals, including this one, that mediocrity is the way to go. Obviously no one was brilliant enough to understand her allusions to the classical mythologies of ancient civilizations, her personal theories of metaphysics, or her unique insight into the human condition. Instead, journals have elected to publish her drunken scrawlings written on napkins at dive bars, which she then drunk types when she comes home alone from happy hours at various establishments. The other nights, little writing gets done.

Shaindel Beers |shaindelrAT NOSPAMyahoo dot com 

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All of these were great, but the first ever winner cracked me up--and got bonus points, because writers could actually submit a similar bio note without stretching the truth. As a result, Jessy Randall will receive a free copy of the 2009 Poet's Market. Congratulations, Jessy!

Here's her winning entry:

Jessy Randall has read poems in the Iowa Review, Ploughshares, the Paris Review, the New Yorker, and The Best American Poetry 1999, 2003, and 2007.

Jessy Randall |jessyrandallAT NOSPAMyahoo dot com

It's Labor Day weekend here in the States, so I get a 3-day weekend with my sons and family reunions on both Sunday (in Northwest Indiana) and Monday (in Southwest Ohio). Woo-hoo!

Also, I want to remind y'all that the deadline for the Fake Bio Note contest is drawing near. So before you get too busy to enter, I suggest you go over, take a look at a few and then take a stab at entering your own fake bio note. It's free--and if yours is selected as the winner, you'll get a free copy of 2009 Poet's Market.

You must add your fake bio note to that actual post, though. So to make it easy on you, here's the URL for that post: http://blog.writersdigest.com/poeticasides/Fake+Bio+Note+Contest.aspx

Besides that, be safe and have fun this weekend!

And if you're looking for a brilliant, cost effective, creative and last minute gift for Mother's Day, do what I plan on doing for my mother: Write her a poem.

Actually, I'm going to go a few steps beyond that. First, I've written the poem. Second, I will get one of those two-picture frames tomorrow. Third, I will insert the poem into one half of the frame. Fourth, I'll insert a picture of my two brothers and I in the other half.

Wow! Super easy. Super cheap. Super creative. And super last minute. But I guarantee you my mom will be knocked off her feet and overcome with emotion.

(Note: While this kind of gift usually works with moms, it's sometimes frowned upon by the dads. Better to stick to your usual gameplan of a tie and a Father's Day card that farts or burps.)

Beginning May 12, the United States post office is changing its rates (after doing so less than a year ago). First-Class Mail stamps will increase from 41 to 42 cents; however, those who have the Forever stamps can still use them--a savings of one penny per letter (or bill). I'm glad, because I've still got like 30+ of those Forever stamps, and it will probably take me forever to get rid of them, since I'm totally slacking on the submission front.

Anyway, the USPS increased its stock of Forever stamps expecting the demand to grow with the upcoming rate increase--so if you want to save a dollar for a roll of 100 or 20 cents for a pack of 20, go get 'em now before they run out of stock.

To read about the other rate changes that will go into effect starting May 12, go to http://www.usps.com/prices/welcome.htm?from=bannercommunications&page=prices.

Several poets blog. So thought I'd share some interesting pieces on blogging that some of my co-workers have been throwing online:

"20 Tips for Good Blogging," by Maria Schneider from The Writer's Perspective

"Best Blog Software for Writers," also by Maria

"What is a blog?," by Brian A. Klems from Questions and Quandaries

These articles should be of use to poets, whether you've thought about blogging or want to improve upon what you're already doing.

Stumbled across the Library of Congress Poetry 180 site that offers educators access to a poem a day through the school year. That's right: 180 poems by poets, such as Billy Collins, Thomas Lux, and Dorianne Laux.

While this is great for secondary ed students, it's also a wonderful resource for all lovers of poetry. Just go to http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/p180-list.html to check it out.

That's right! Check out an interview with me, Robert Lee Brewer, editor of Writer's Market and blogger-extraordinaire at http://writerunboxed.com/2007/09/14/interview-robert-brewer/.

Thank you, Therese Walsh, for the opportunity!

...on MySpace!

I've created a Poetic Asides profile on MySpace and will be glad to befriend and communicate with all the readers of the Poetic Asides blog. While our blog entries will be handled here, I do realize that many people (myself included) would rather ask questions in a one-on-one setting. And I know y'all want to be friends with me.

If you have a MySpace profile already, just go to http://myspace.com/poeticasides and request me as a friend.

If you don't have a MySpace profile already, just go to http://myspace.com and create a new account (they're free and only take a few minutes). Then, go to http://myspace.com/poeticasides and request me as a friend.

Leave comments, send messages, have fun. 'Nuff said. :)

*****

O yeah, and have a great weekend!

The New 7 Wonders of the World was recently announced, and I thought it might be a good exercise for poets to try choosing a wonder and writing a poem inspired by it. Of course, ambitious poets could write a poem for each new wonder, or even one poem that incorporates all seven.

I've included the list below with links to pictures:

• The Great Wall of China
• Petra in Jordan
• Brazil's statue of Christ the Redeemer
• Peru's Machu Picchu
• Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid
• The Colosseum in Rome
• India's Taj Mahal

From Desicritics.org, "The Ghazal-An Odd Sort of Poetry," by Deepa Krishnan, is a nice tribute to poet Mirza Ghalib, as well as an educated discussion on the ghazal form of poetry. As I'm sure most poets do, I was thinking of the ghazal in relation to my own work as I read.

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From the William & Mary Web site, "Victorian Poetry's Bad Boy," by Erin Zagurski, profiles scholar Terry Meyers and his pursuit of gaining more recognition for Victorian poet (and bad boy), Algernon Charles Swinburne. I'm always appreciative of scholars who work to keep lesser known poets from completely disappearing into the ether. Even if you're not interested in Victorian poets, the article itself is very interesting.

It's definitely an interesting idea that Jeannine Hall Gailey raises. I've actually pondered this myself before as a way to bring contemporary poetry to the masses.

Jeannine says her dream panel of judges would include Bob Hicock, Denise Duhamel, and either Louise Gluck or Margaret Atwood (heck, why not both?).

Two of these poets would definitely be on my dream panel too. And then I'd throw in someone random like Paris Hilton or Hulk Hogan. Just to boost ratings, of course.

Who would be on your panel?

Source: Jeannine Blogs