Blog Profiles: Poetry Blogs
Welcome to Blog Profiles! Each week, we select a topic and handful of blogs that do a great job contributing to the conversation. Our latest roundup gives a deserving shoutout to a few poetry blogs. Do you have a blog that deserves recognition? Tweet our writers at @BeyondBylines.
Writing is a huge part of my life.
I’ve spent decades in the journalism and communications industry. In my free time, I freelance and ghostwrite.
My relationship with words is as important as my body’s relationship with breath.
But poetry remains an area of writing that’s a mystery to me.
Here are four poetry blogs I discovered that beautifully carry on this mystery, while supporting their writers and their craft.
1. Harriet Blog – Poetry Foundation
Harriet is a blog of The Poetry Foundation, which publishes Poetry magazine.
The foundation is an independent literary group committed to a “vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience.”
The blog features poems, poets, prose, and collections.
I like this blog for a lot of reasons. More than just poetry, the content really gets you thinking about other things that affect the poetry world.
Posts I enjoyed include Millay Site in Danger of Closure, So You Want to Open a Small Press Bookstore/Artist-Run Space? A Cautionary Tale, and Denise Levertov’s Years in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Follow @PoetryFound on Twitter.
Credit: @poetryfoundation on Instagram
2. The Poetry Project
The Poetry Project has a long and unusual history.
According to the site, in the summer of 1966, The Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery was founded as a direct successor to, and continuation of, the various coffeehouse reading series that had flourished on the Lower East Side since 1960.
That was just the beginning.
Today, The Poetry Project promotes, fosters and inspires the reading and writing of contemporary poetry through live programming, the website, workshops, publications, and special events. It presents poetry to diverse audiences and provides a community where poets and artists can exchange ideas and information.
Posts I liked include “Hard Drive” by Hettie Jones, The Allen Ginsberg Symposium, May 3-5, 2018, and from DAVE by Robert Fitterman.
Follow @poetry_project on Twitter.
Credit: @poetry_project on Instagram
3. The New Verse News
The New Verse News accepts unpublished poems and submissions from writers.
“Although the editors and audience of The New Verse News have a politically progressive bias, we welcome well-written verses of various visions and viewpoints,” the site says. “The writer of a poem accepted by the editors will be informed of that acceptance simultaneously with the posting of the poem on site.”
James Penha is the blog’s managing editor.
I really enjoyed the poem Crossing the Line, a powerful piece about the recent meeting of the North and South Korean leaders, written by Jill Crainshaw, a professor at Wake Forest University School of Divinity in Winston-Salem, NC. I also liked Craters by Alejandro Escudé. Escudé holds a master’s degree in creative writing from UC Davis and teaches high school English.
Follow @NewVerseNews on Twitter.
Credit: The New Verse News on Facebook
4. PoemShape
When you visit PoemShape, you learn high up that it’s the site of a New England poet who “writes poetry, haiku, fables & criticism.”
Patrick Gillespie doesn’t technically offer his name, but you learn a bit about him when you dig. He was born in Berlin, grew up in southern Ohio and Vermont, listens to Bach and Beethoven, and enjoys skateboarding, longboarding and snowboarding. His wife, Tracy Gillespie, creates block prints, which he features on his site.
“I began writing poetry as a teenager when I saw a video of Robert Frost reading his poetry,” he says. “I do not have an MFA. I don’t have any connections. I’m self-taught. If you send me your poetry, all I can do is to read it, give you my opinion if asked, and wish you the best of luck.”
Posts I appreciated include Medieval Music, November, and December 30th 2017.
Credit: PoemShape. Hand made block print by Tracy Gillespie.
P.S. Ever wonder how we come up with ideas for our blog profiles? Our handy list of industries and subjects on PR Newswire for Journalists stays top of mind. If you’re a blogger or journalist looking for creative writing news, let us know. We can customize a newsfeed for you.
Christine Cube is a senior audience relations manager with PR Newswire and freelance writer. Follow her at @cpcube.
