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“It seems to me that prose, it may be lyrical, but it isn’t meant to be sung.” In this 2014 Academy of American Poets event, Edward Hirsch discusses the history and practice of poets writing prose with Toi Derricotte and Claudia Rankine.
“I never felt that I wrote [my poems] anyway. I would feel them coming from way off, and then they would come toward me and if I didn’t catch them, they went through me and went on. So I just figured they were part of the universe and not me.” In this excerpt from the 2017 film In Person: World Poets, a collaboration between Bloodaxe Books and filmmaker Pamela Robertson-Pearce, the late poet Ruth Stone reads her poems from her home in Vermont.
In Rachel Mannheimer’s debut book, Earth Room (Changes Press, 2022), the book-length narrative takes the reader to places such as Los Angeles, Berlin, the Hudson Valley, and Mars. Some of the settings are used in a straightforward and narrative way, but others act as a sort of emotional backdrop against which intimate relationships and observations on sculpture, performance art, and land art can be examined. Inspired by Mannheimer’s original use of place, write a poem titled after a city. Try to challenge yourself by exploring the emotional and psychological undertones you associate with that place.
“The best things that happen in poems are discoveries, they’re accidents; what comes out of our imagination, out of our deepest self, out of our memory.” In this 2007 PBS NewsHour interview, Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Charles Simic speaks about his childhood in Yugoslavia, writing about war, becoming a U.S. poet laureate, and the freedom in poetry. Simic died at the age of eighty-four on January 9, 2023.
The author of What Can I Tell You?: Selected Poems explores the poetic potential of vernacular language.
Do you have a manuscript that needs some cash to reach the finish line? Apply for the de Groot Foundation’s Courage to Write Grants, which offer $7,000 to each of seven emerging poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers with works-in-progress and “for whom a monetary boost could help further or complete the project.” Awardees will meet virtually to discuss their projects and share ideas.
Using only the online submission system, submit a brief bio of up to 120 words, a completed application form, and five pages of a current, unpublished poetry or prose manuscript with a $22 entry fee by February 12. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Previous winners of the Courage to Write Grants include Zahir Janmohamed for his memoir, The Permitted Hours; Campbell Walmsley for her novel, Burn Rate; and Jefferey Spivey for his story collection, The Birthright of Sons.
In addition to the Courage to Write Grants, the de Groot Foundation will offer the Lando Grants, which award $7,000 to each of three writers exploring immigrant/refugee issues in any genre; applications are also due on February 12. Up to ten Writer of Note Grants of $1,500 each will be awarded to writers selected from the pool of finalists for the Lando and Courage to Write grants.
Founded in 2010, the de Groot Foundation is a private family foundation that aims “to support high impact, sustainable innovation, education and cultural projects” worldwide. Funding from the organization has helped finance the first women’s hospital in Cambodia; a library in Nianiar, Senegal; and individual artistic projects. The foundation has recently amplified its attention to the literary arts: “Because of our love of literature and the power of story, we’re passionate about focusing the de Groot Foundation’s initiatives on discovering new voices and encouraging emerging writers,” says the foundation’s website.
“Nowhere else does the sky do what the sky does there / where the graves are filled with dirt the color of fire.” Terrance Hayes reads his poem “Arbor for Butch,” which appears in his National Book Award–winning collection, Lighthead (Penguin Books), for this 2010 reading at the 92nd Street Y in New York City.
In a recent installment of our Agents & Editors Recommend series, Kristina Marie Darling, editor in chief of Tupelo Press, suggests taking risks with form in order to stand out from other poetry manuscripts. “Do something interesting with the space of the page,” writes Darling. “Be creative with how language is laid out on the page. Take risks with typography. Use white space as a unit of composition.” This week approach the page like a canvas. Let the visual element of your poem help tell the story and expand your language.
“I had to feel my way forward, wondering and wanting.” —Gabrielle Bates
The author of What Can I Tell You?: Selected Poems considers how lyric poetry may communicate beyond the realm of private experience.
