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.”
Pure Poetry #10 : Michelle Tea
“hey now tall girl
aren’t you bored
all by yourself in your messy room”
Pure Poetry #9: Shel Silverstein
(from Intern Lily & w/a 12-year-old boy who lives with Laneia) – “Silverstein writes what children see. He reminds us all of what it is like to view the world in its purest form. A world without stereotypes, biases, and social norms.”
Pure Poetry #8: Louise Glück
It was the last line of the poem that was the most striking. ‘The love of form is a love of endings.’
Pure Poetry #7: e.e cummings
“e.e cummings is also really hard to read aloud because of his weird use of syntax. He’s kind of like Yoda but more sexual.”
Pure Poetry #6: Staceyann Chin
Chin’s writing covers a lot of topics- so I’m going to share excerpts of two very different pieces with you. Because I love you.
Pure Poetry #5: Leonard Cohen
“It wasn’t until I was in my early 20s that I realized that Leonard Cohen was an accomplished poet, that his songs were poetry set to a soundtrack.”