We have all heard the story of an aged Pablo Neruda at a poetry reading, turning down a request to perform a poem from the earlier days of his career, citing a failing memory.  There were plenty of copies of it at hand, but the Chilean poet wouldn’t countenance anything as unprofessional as reading his [...]

(Here’s a salute to Creative Writing programs from our poets and critics, past and present, culled from various interviews and essays.) “Abolish the M.F.A.! What a ringing slogan for a new Cato: Iowa delenda est!” – Donald Hall “We are now at the point where writing programs are poisoning, and in turn we are being poisoned [...]

I have attended dozens of poetry readings. Virtually all of them were identical: • The introductions made me think I was about to witness the second coming of John Donne. • All of the “poems” were preceded by tedious, unhelpful explanations. Typically, these involved the author’s state of intoxication when they wrote this stuff or [...]

The CPR editors recently received the following note from the Italian scholar Massimo Bacigalupo: Dear Scholars of Ezra Pound and Modernism: I thought you’d like to know that the house where Olga Rudge and Ezra Pound lived in Sant’Ambrogio di Zoagli, above Rapallo, is for sale. Only half of it, to be precise. If any [...]

The Unspoken Rules of Book Reviewing: A Guide for Beginners Rule 1: Only review a book if you can be impartial about it—that is, only review a book toward which you feel nothing.  Be descriptive; avoid value judgments. Rule 2: If you do have an opinion, don’t express it unless it’s positive.  Make sure to [...]

Recently, Andrew Feld posted the following comment on Joan Houlihan’s review of Christian Wiman’s latest book of poems: Without addressing the substance of this review, it does seem problematic to me that it is written by a poet whose most recent book was given a hugely unfavorable review in the journal edited by Christian Wiman. [...]

In a review copy of Norman Stock’s new collection, Pickled Dreams Naked (NYQ Books), we came across the first honest poem we’ve ever read about poetry readings. Poetasters, prepare yourselves. At a Boring Poetry Reading They read the audience to death. These poets use live ammunition, their words, to weaken us. Are they trying to put us [...]

The editors of the CPR wish to thank our readers for their comments, and letters, on the subject of “poetry readings.” Our very short and sarcastic list created a tiff among a number of “the touchy tribe” who seemed to take offense at the notion that all contemporary poetry readings are not wonderfully entertaining events. [...]

Five Lessons from AWP: Or, Why We Hate Poetry Readings 1)      You should recite your poetry, not read it. 2)      If you can’t recite your poetry, then you can’t remember your poetry. And if you can’t remember your poetry, why would anyone else? 3)      A poetry recital should be a performance.  Most poets read their [...]

The 2nd Annual Symposium on Poetry Criticism on July 28-30, 2011 To be held at Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado Founded by Jan Schreiber and David J. Rothman Participants include the CPR’s Ernest Hilbert, Joan Houlihan, David J. Rothman, Jan Schreiber, and James Matthew Wilson. Marilyn Krysl, Marilyn Taylor, and David Yezzi will also [...]