Pure Poetry #34: Of All Poets, Stephen Dunn
In which five of us talk about our favorite poet ever. “Those of us who think we know / the same secrets / are silent together most of the time.”
Sarah Kay on TED
“I don’t know if I could change the world, yet, because I don’t know that much about it.”
Pure Poetry #29: Sylvia Plath is Depressing
Once upon a time I hated Sylvia Plath. Now I don’t! How did this happen? The answers lie inside this post…
Pure Poetry #28 : Dorothy Porter
You really need to know about Dorothy Porter. She was an Australian poet, an out lesbian, and basically awesome.
Pure Poetry #27: Jeffrey McDaniel
“You must nurture the kiss. Turn out the lights. Notice how it illuminates the room. Hold it to your chest and wonder if the sand inside hourglasses comes from a special beach.”
Pure Poetry #26: Lee Harwood
“I like his poetry because it’s kind of all over the place without being noisy about it.”
Pure Poetry #25: Notes on Rainer “Rilke” Maria Rilke
Did you know that Rilke’s Mom initially raised him as a girl? True story.
Riese’s Team Pick: Emily Gould on Pure Poetry at Poetry Magazine
“You have to seek poetry out and, at least at first, you have force yourself to swallow it. Like a scratchy vitamin.”
Pure Poetry #24: Charles Bukowski
I don’t want to write my essay, so here’s some Charles Bukowski poems.
Pure Poetry #23: NSFW Lesbosexy Sunday Knows Sex is Pure Poetry
“Oh, to be ready for it, unf*cked, ever-f*cked.”
Pure Poetry #22: William Carlos Williams and Beyond
This is just a post (mostly) about old white men. But it’s happy. It’s Autostraddle is Pure Poetry week and this is how we do it.
Pure Poetry #20: Veronica Franco, the Courtesan
“Veronica Franco became an icon for women to leave the confines of the home and enter the world of men. Unfortunately, in those days the only real way to do so was to become a prostitute.”
Pure Poetry #19: Rock WILK is a F*cking Experience
“Rock’s voice was more powerful than my desire for a fresh beer.”
Pure Poetry #18: Raymond Carver Could Drink Ten Quarts of this Beer
And did you get what you wanted from this life, even so?
Pure Poetry #17: Adrienne Rich Came to Explore the Wreck
I came to explore the wreck. The words are purposes. The words are maps.
Pure Poetry #16: Vanessa Hidary, The Hebrew Mamita
‘Should I fiddle on a f*cking roof for you?’
Pure Poetry #14: Sady Doyle on the Great Poet Diane Di Prima
“This woman found the riskiest, weirdest thing to be, at any particular moment, and then she became it.”
Pure Poetry #15: Pablo Neruda
“Cómo logró su libertad la bicicleta abandonada?”
Pure Poetry #13: Jack Spicer Breaks My Heart Into Small Pieces
“I think that anyone’s a fool to become a junkie or a poet… it’s the same kind of hook really, and it has the same withdrawal symptoms if you ever try it.”
Pure Poetry #11: Saul Williams
“Admittedly, as a 21-year-old middle-class queer Asian woman, I probably do not share that many experiences with Saul Williams, except for maybe being from New York and having a profound appreciation for women’s bodies.”