Dead Poets Society of America

I think I would have liked Reed Whittemore

I really think I would have liked Reed Whittemore,
but now he's dead, and I no more can see no more
this former double Poet Laureate, etc. etc.

Whittemore died in April. He wrote in the early 60's

"“When I look at history, literary and social, I find that I side pretty steadily with history’s eccentrics,” Mr. Whittemore wrote in the essay “But Seriously,” published in the early 1960s. “I don’t mean all the mad astrologists and mystics — the best satirists have not, I think, gravitated toward exotic ideals and idealisms — but simply the mundane eccentrics who have stood on the sidelines with the game in progress, and made frosty remarks instead of cheering.”

 

Dead Writer's Club (great blog)

The Dead Writer's Club is one of our favorite blogs here at the Dead Poets Society of America. They have a GREAT visual background for posts:

 

List of 15 Top Poets' Graves Released

The long-awaited release of the Top 15 US Poets' Graves is here! The Associated Press ran a national story of this milestone in literary history, as 225 Poets' Graves were reached.

May 14th: Emily Dickinson Poetry Walk

This year's Emily Dickinson Poetry Walk will focus on her poetry in translation. The 1 PM Community reading on Saturday, May 14th will move from place to place in town, finishing at HER GRAVE. Should be a very informative and fun event.

There will be an open house at her homestead museum from 3 to 4. PM.

"Poet Laureati-ed" in Kansas

A report on the United Poets Laureate blog tells of the great gathering last weekend in Kansas, when a flock of 19 State Poets Laureate blackbirds sat on tree branches together and lived poetry.

I’m not exactly sure what happened during these days, but I do know I hugged many people, swam with others in tandem through conversations about vocation and passion, healing and imagery, the hunger to find the right words, the necessity of listening to other, and where to find Thai food on Mass. Street. I watched audiences leaning forward, intent and awake. I heard all weather variations of poetry: sonnets about liberal arts, free verse on the damage fathers can do, elaborations on the danger of the hot dog man, and wry deconstructions of our need to be adored.

I also found friends for life: poets and poets laureate I just met, and yet they were instantly big brothers or long-lost cousins sharing a bag of ginger snaps with me late at night in the kitchen or duck spring rolls at a candlelit dinner yesterday. There will be radio broadcasts of portions of the event on Kansas and Kansas City Public Radio stations, and a video or two soon, but for now, this is what I know.

Poets Laureate Fill Museum with Passion

An article in the University Daily Kansan reviewed the reading by Ted Kooser and other State Poets Laureate which took place at the Spencer Museum of Art this past Sunday.

"An Alaskan honored the late John Haines and illustrated blue ribbon eels with neon mouths that coughed near Fiji. A western aide revisited a parasite dipping tank in Zaire. A student begged a teacher to taste the syllables of her haiku.

These speakers were three of the ten poet laureates who read for the “Poet Laureati” Sunday at the Spencer Museum of Art. A collection of poet laureates’ works, “An Endless Skyway,” was released at the event."

Poet Laureati! A National Gathering of Poets Laureate

This weekend an historic gathering of 19 State Poets Laureate is taking place in Lawrence, Kansas (the boyhood home of Langston Hughes, I believe). It is called  "Poet Laureati! A National Gathering of Poets Laureate" and it is sponsored by a group called United Poets Laureate.

Many friends of the Dead Poets Society of America are attending and we look forward to news of how the gathering goes. Former US Poet Laureatee, Ted Kooser, will be attending as a special guest.

"Buried Alive!" Some Inspirations for Poe's Horror Stories

"Buried Alive": The Inspiration for Poe's Horror Stories from ChiefFallingLeaf on Vimeo.

At the Grave of Poe's "Helen"

At the Grave of Poe's "Helen" from ChiefFallingLeaf on Vimeo.

Beauty, Sound & Death: Poe's Aesthetics

In celebration of Poe's birthday, January 19th, here is:

Beauty, Sound & Death : Poe's Aesthetics from ChiefFallingLeaf on Vimeo.