Monthly Archives: April 2006

One more note on “luminous” as a poetry cliché: I would like to plead special exemption for Edward Lear, who wins my prize for the best use of luminous in a poem title: The Dong With the Luminous Nose. A … Continue reading →

From the incomparable 1955 edition of the Good Housekeeping Cookbook – its pages starting to scallop at the edges, spine restored long ago with silver duct tape – and with a little customization, one of my mother’s triumphs: Queen of … Continue reading →

A year ago this week we lost our lovely Sara: Australian Shepherdess extraordinaire, aged 16. …your gaze could curemultitudes, the silk of your headsoothe any worry.You teach us to tasteeach morning as if it’s our first. And day after day … Continue reading →

I have been looking with longing at the program for the 12th Annual West Chester University Poetry Conference: Exploring Form and Narrative. Among the offerings are workshops on rhyme with Dick Davis, meter with Timothy Steele, a master class with … Continue reading →

There is a word that has filtered into the collective consciousness of British poets, as memorably discussed in Peter Sansom’s enduring how-to text, Writing Poems, which first appeared in 1994, in a discussion about poetry clichés: “Writers use them to … Continue reading →