Review: ‘I Go to the Ruined Place’
These contemporary poems in defense of global human rights give voice to the dead, the dying, and the degraded.
Benefit Event for Louisiana Bucket Brigade
We know the power of poetry to demand change and to heal our world. On July 31, at Eatonville restaurant, we will be using that power to throw a benefit for the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, a grassroots 501(c)3 environmental health and justice organization that has been helping residents living near Louisiana refineries fight air pollution for years, and is now helping them track and respond to the BP Oil Disaster that is ravaging the Gulf.
Split This Rock Poem of the Week: Jericho Brown
A moment of verse, brought to you by the folks from Split This Rock Poetry Festival.
‘Howl’ in the City
In celebration of the landmark exhibition “Beat Memories: The Photographs of Allen Ginsberg,” on view at the National Gallery of Art through September 17, Busboys and Poets and Split This Rock present “Howl” in the City at the Fifth and K Streets location of Busboys and Poets on July 23 and 24. Renowned poet Anne Waldman and musician Kyp Malone will perform, both accompanied by a quartet of musicians led by DC-based Matthew Hemerlein.
Split This Rock Poem of the Week: Tara Betts
A moment of verse, brought to you by the folks from Split This Rock Poetry Festival.
Split This Rock Poem of the Week: Lori Desrosiers
A moment of verse, brought to you by the folks from Split This Rock Poetry Festival.
Split This Rock Poem of the Week: Randall Horton
A moment of verse, brought to you by the folks from Split This Rock Poetry Festival.
Split This Rock Poem of the Week: Philip Metres
A moment of verse, brought to you by the folks from Split This Rock Poetry Festival.
Split This Rock Poem of the Week: Remica L. Bingham
A moment of verse, brought to you by the folks from Split This Rock Poetry Festival.
Conference: Congo Independence 50 Years Later: The Continuing Pursuit
On June 30, 2010, the Democratic Republic of Congo will celebrate its 50th year of independence from Belgian colonial rule. Celebrations will take place throughout the globe commemorating this golden anniversary. Not all Congolese are celebrating, however. Nor are peace and justice loving people as a whole, who value and respect a more united and elevated African continent. That ultimate independence and liberation of the Congo has yet to be achieved.
Music is Still the Weapon
Hope isn’t lost for those who believe that art can transform our world.
Imagination Crisis
The next time you feel hopeless and full of despair about the future, reach for a poem.
A Fond Farewell to Dennis Brutus
Throughout his entire life, Dennis Brutus fought systems of exploitation and oppression. In one of his last interviews he discusses his past, the latest attempts of social movements to fight global oppression, and the role of the United States in the world.
Split This Rock Poetry Festival: Poems of Provocation and Witness
As the country continues to grapple with two wars, the economic crisis, and social and environmental ills, Split This Rock offers participants opportunities to speak out, make common cause, and explore the many ways poets are working for change through their writing, activism, and community work. Co-Director Sarah Browning said, “At times of crisis, poetry that looks directly at our world and struggles to understand, to bridge differences, to imagine other possibilities than those endlessly repeated by politicians and pundits is more important than ever.”
Workshop by Kathy Engel: Everything is Translation: Poetry that Breaks Boundaries
We will each bring a favorite poem and our readiness to listen, to write, and to share our work. We will share poems we love and discuss why, talk about fear and censorship that gets in the way of telling our stories through poetry. Why poetry? we will ask. We will look inside the notion that everything is translation, even within one language, the ways in which we make assumptions about one another without understanding each other’s languages, and what can happen when we break open the assumptions and move inside the language. We will write using prompts that push us in language, form and narrative. We look at questions of identity, form, sound, story, magic, dream, research, journey, connection. Our time together as poets will be informed by an understanding that community is not separate from poetry and that community cannot exist without the sharing of all the stories, all the voices.