Below, the opening of Kwame Dawes’ article on Kofi Awoonor from Speakeasy Magazine. You can read the full article here. NAIROBI, Kenya–I will travel to Ghana to be present at the burial of Kofi Awoonor. I will because he is a great Ghanaian poet. I will because he is a remarkable African thinker and mentor. I will because he traveled to Jamaica from Ghana to bury my father, his dear … Read more Kwame Dawes on Kofi Awoonor
It takes my breath away to think that today is the 25th anniversary of bp nichol’s passing — I still exactly remember the moment he stepped on stage at one of the great Polyphonix sound poetry festivals in Paris, introduced (if memory serves) by Jean-Jacques Lebel, sometime in the very late 70s or very early 80s. I often think of him as “The Renaissance Canadian” poet — poet, writer, … Read more bpNichol — 25 Years Already!
Monday September 30 5:00 – 7PM Manhattan, NY Pierre Joris & Nicole Peyrafitte present: The Making of The University of California Book of North African Literature: Poems for the Millennium Vol.4 NYU – Hagop Kvorkian Center, 255 Sullivan Street (at Washington Square South) NYC Thursday October 10 8:00PM Brooklyn, NY Nicole Peyrafitte reading at The Shed Space with Kimberly Lyons & Nada Gordon 366 6th Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY Tuesday October 15 3:00 … Read more New York / L.A. / San Diego / Bruxelles / Philadelphia / Gambier: Fall Gigs
Back in Brooklyn, where the “rentrée” is much less hectic & thus much more pleasurable than in Paris… thus, first local fall pleasure, the event, two evenings ago, at Poisson Rouge for James Sherry’s new book Oops! Environmental Poetics published by Blaze VOX (you can buy it here). James read an extract from what looks like (well, sounded like) an excellent statement on ecopoetics — actually I prefer his … Read more James Sherry’s Oops! Environmental Poetics
As I walked down rue de Mézières in the 6th arrondissement earlier this month, I stopped, surprised by a restaurant awning that seemed to quote a wordplay I had used on occasion in poems & essays over the years. So much so in fact that 2 years ago Peter Cockelbergh used the English word “the in-between” in the title of the book of essays on my work he edited: … Read more Betweeness in French
The great German philologist Jacob Grimm died 150 years ago today. If you like dictionaries, you should check out what is still he greatest German language Wörterbuch — now online & available for free, here. My work on translating Paul Celan was made immeasurably easier by that dictionary, especially as it was Celan’s own favorite source for uncontaminated German & for etymologies & local dialectical variations. Jacob Grimm described … Read more Jacob Grimm — Tales &/of Words
Yesterday, Monday (September 16), was the official publication date for Eye of Witness: A Jerome Rothenberg Reader, co-edited with Heriberto Yépez & published by Black Widow Press (Joe Philips & Susan Wood) in Boston. I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy but meanwhile have to make do with JR’s words: “The design of the book follows the layout of my anthologies such as Poems for the Millennium & Technicians of … Read more Eye of Witness: A Jerome Rothenberg Reader
Press release by the Earth League 09/16/2013 “The body of evidence is overwhelming”: Prominent climate scientists issue stark statement Two weeks prior to the launch of the first section of the latest IPCC’s report on climate change, twelve members of the newly established Earth League – a global initiative of prominent climate scientists – have jointly published a stark statement. “The body of evidence indicating that our civilisation has … Read more “The body of evidence is overwhelming”
Press release by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research 09/12/2013 Further delay in the implementation of comprehensive international climate policies could substantially increase the short-term costs of climate change mitigation. Global economic growth would be cut back by up to 7 percent within the first decade after climate policy implementation if the current international stalemate is continued until 2030 – compared to 2 percent if a climate agreement … Read more Delaying climate policy would triple short-term mitigation costs