Category Archives: contemporary poetry

Samuel Delany, Marilyn Hacker?

Posted on March 20, 2013 by wcd2

March 20, 2013 He met her on the first day, Bronx High School of Science, September 1956. They got married five years later (in Detroit — Michigan was one of the two states where interracial marriage was not illegal). … Continue reading →

Posted in African-American literature, Black-Jewish alliances, collaboration, Contemporary novel, contemporary poetry, Educational institutions, Ethnicity, Science fiction, Twentieth century literature | Tagged Babel-17, Bronx High School of Science, Detroit, Dhalgren, Heavenly Breakfast, Kennedy Airport, Marilyn Hacker, Michigan, Motion of Light in Water, Presentation Piece, Quark: A Quarterly of Speculative Fiction, Samuel Delany, The Einstein Intersection, The Jewel of Aptor | Leave a comment

The Global North: Alexander, Boo, Erdrich, Ferry

Posted on February 13, 2013 by wcd2

February 13, 2013 The blizzard this past weekend made me think of Argus, North Dakota. Louise Erdrich’s country. Love Medicine opens with a blizzard: “The snow feel deeper that Easter than it had for forty years, but June walked over … Continue reading →

Posted in Cities, Comparative literature, Contemporary novel, contemporary poetry, India, Native-American literature, Translation | Tagged Beyond the Beautiful Forevers, Boston, David Ferry, Global North, Goblin Secrets, Katherine Boo, KIng's College London, Louise Erdrich, Love Medicine, Minneapolis, Mumbai, National Book Award, North Dakota, Sunil Khilnani, The Beet Queen, William Alexander | Leave a comment

Ishmael Reed, Grateful Dead: Egypt

Posted on November 28, 2012 by wcd2

November 28, 2012 Ishmael Reed gets away with it. He is “a Cowboy in the Boat of Ra,” he says in the poem of that title. And he gets to do thisbecause Sonny Rollins has already set an example: Sonny … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Arts communities, collaboration, contemporary poetry, Egypt, Global South, jazz, Middle East, Music, peripheral networks, Rock music, Twentieth century literature, Vernacular dialects, World religions | Tagged "Rocking the Cradle: Egypt 1978", Bill Kreutzmann, Cowboy in the Boat of Ra, Egypt, Gizab Sound & Light Theater, Grateful Dead, Hamza El Din, ishmael Reed, Israel, Jerry Garcia, Madame Anwar Sadat, Moses, Nile, Nubian Youth Choir, Ollin Arageed, Peace Accord, Ra, Sonny Rollins | Leave a comment

Sherman Alexie, Walt Whitman: Hoop Dreams

Posted on November 14, 2012 by wcd2

November 14, 2012 When Stephen Colbert pointed out with incredulity that he had come out with yet another book, Sherman Alexie said, “That’s what happens when you’re literate.” Yes, from reading to writing: it’s as easy as that, as inevitable. … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiography, collaboration, contemporary poetry, Ethnicity, Genre, Media, mixed races, Modernist poetry, Native-American literature, Nineteenth-century literature, peripheral networks, print medium, Remediation, Remix, Sports, Television, Twentieth century literature, YouTube videos | Tagged "Defending Walt Whitman", basketball, boxing, First Indian on the Moon, Native Americans, Sherman Alexie, Song of Myself, Stephen Colbert, Walt Whitman. Muhammed Ali | Leave a comment

Maya Angelou, Walt Whitman: Songs of Myself

Posted on September 19, 2012 by wcd2

September 19, 2012 As of today, “Still I Rise” has 743,494 views on YouTube. There are 1,113 comments, some vituperative, including this one: “What the fuck kind of poetry is this? John Milton would rise from the dead to kill … Continue reading →

Posted in African-American literature, African-American music, contemporary poetry, digital platforms, Genre, Interdisciplinarity, lyric, Media, Music, Nineteenth-century literature, Race, slavery, Twentieth century literature, YouTube videos | Tagged Calypso, Dante, Italian Opera, Leo Logic, Maya Angelou, Milton, Rap Genius, Song of Myself, Still I Rise, Whitman | Leave a comment

Seamus Heaney: More Strange Fruit

Posted on August 8, 2012 by wcd2

August 8, 2012 This week I’ve been listening to many versions of “Strange Fruit”: Nina Simone, Jeff Buckley, Gil Evans and the Sting. I have to say: I still prefer Billie Holiday. But I had no idea Seamus Heaney also … Continue reading →

Posted in African-American literature, collaboration, Comparative literature, contemporary poetry, Diaspora, Gender, globe, Irish literature, lyric, Modernist poetry, Music, Race, Racial violence, Remediation, Rock music, slavery, Translation, twentieth century art, Twentieth century literature, World history, world literature, YouTube videos | Tagged " Jutland, " Seamus Heaney, "Punishment, "Strange Fruit, Billie Holiday, Denmark, Gil Evans, Jeff Buckley, Nina Simone, North (1975), Northern Ireland, the Sting | 6 Comments

Jazz in Australia: Yusef Komunyakaa, Charlie Parker

Posted on May 22, 2012 by wcd2

May 22, 2012 I’m heading there later today, so I’ve been doing a bit of homework. Komunyakaa, of course: it’s so strange that I should be talking about his play adaptation of Gilgamesh at the University of Sydney, when there … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptation, Arts communities, Australia, collaboration, Comparative literature, contemporary poetry, Cuneiform, Educational institutions, epic, Ethnicity, Global South, Handwritten script, lyric, Media, Mesopotamia, Middle East, Music, Near Eastern poetry, peripheral networks, planet, print medium, Remediation, twentieth century art | Tagged " Charlie Parker, "Testimony, Austraiia, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Dexter Gordon, February in Sydney, Gilgamesh, jazz poetry anthology, Louis Armstrong, Mandy Sayer, Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, Miles Davis, Sand Evans, Sydney Opera House, Thieves of Paradise, University of New Orleans, University of Sydney, Yusef Komunyakaa | 8 Comments

Iraq in Poetry: Brian Turner

Posted on April 4, 2012 by wcd2

April 4, 2012 Teaching his poetry was easy. There was never any doubt in my mind that it belonged in the course – along with Whitman on the Civil War; John Hersey on Hiroshima; Ha Jin on Korea; Michael Herr … Continue reading →

Posted in Arabic, Classics, collaboration, Contemporary novel, contemporary poetry, Cuneiform, Educational institutions, epic, Handwritten script, Islam, lyric, Media, Mesopotamia, Middle East, Near Eastern poetry, Translation, Twentieth century literature, Universities, world literature | Tagged Alhazen of Basra, American Civil War, analytical geometry, Brian Turner, Divisadero Street, Eulogy, Fresno, Gilgamesh. John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Ha Jin, Here Bullet, Hiroshima, John Hersey, Katyusha rockets, Korean War, Michael Herr, Vietnam, Walt Whitman | 3 Comments

The Global South: Miami 2012

Posted on March 7, 2012 by wcd2

March 7, 2012 From where we were sitting, we could see the different kinds of palm trees. Brian Breed, David Borman, Carolina Villalba, Izabella Zieba — fourth year, third year, and second year students in the English Department. There … Continue reading →

Posted in collaboration, Comparative literature, contemporary poetry, Global South, Islam, Israeli literature, Latin America, Middle East, Near Eastern poetry, Palestinian film, Palestinian literature, peripheral networks, Translation, Twentieth century literature, Universities, world literature | Tagged A. B. Yehoshua, Amos Oz, Anton Shammas, Columbia, Cuba, Daniella Carmi, David Grossman, Dominican Republic, Edwidge Danticat, Escobar, Faradis, Ghassan Kanafani, Haiti, Miami, Mutiny Hotel, Ranen Omer-Sherman, Sahar Khalifeh, Sayed Kashua, University of Miami, Yayha Yakhlif, Yehuda Amichai | 42 Comments

Yusef Komunyakaa and Chad Gracia, Gilgamesh

Posted on February 22, 2012 by wcd2

February 22, 2012 I’ve never given a talk at UCLA. Caltech, yes, in nearby Pasadena; also the Huntington Library. But never at the famed Royce Hall, 405 Hilgard Avenue. So I’m a bit anxious about tomorrow: a graduate student … Continue reading →

Posted in adaptation, Classics, collaboration, Comparative literature, contemporary poetry, Cuneiform, Dance, epic, Handwritten script, Mesopotamia, Near Eastern poetry, Remediation, Theater, Translation, Visual arts, world literature | Tagged Caltech, Chad Gracia, Cunieform, Enkidu, epic, Gilgamesh, Huntington Library, Ode to the Maggot, Our Oriental Heritage, Pasadena, Sumeria, UCLA, Will Durant, Yusef Komunyakaa | 67 Comments