This week’s Newsweek has a lengthy profile of our Poet Laureate, Kay Ryan. It’s a fascinating read, and I’d commend it to your attention.
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Kay a few times and talking with her several more times, and I think the article does a wonderful job of capturing her personality, her take on the role of Poet Laureate, and what she believes is the essence of poetry. (I wrote about Kay at length here.)
By the way, if you hadn’t already seen, we were thrilled that Kay recently agreed to stay on as Poet Laureate for a second term. You’ll have the opportunity to see her firsthand at the National Book Festival on Sept. 26. (We will soon be announcing a much broader—and stellar—list of authors for this year’s NBF.)
July 1, 2009 at 1:12 pm
What a great article about Kay Ryan. Thanks for the referral.
I am quite saddened to learn that her spouse, Carol, died in January. I hope Kay finds comfort through whatever means she can.
July 28, 2009 at 9:44 am
As well as devoting our time to genius of past writers it is important not to dismiss such great talent that is springing up on the web. I came across a site by visiting poetry Ireland called http://www.theponderingpoet.com. Although it is not ground breaking material it proves that unrecognised talent is every where in this electric library. Unfortuatly for many writers creating such web sites will not grant success but will atleast bring a smile to those who stumble blindly upon them. It is atleast a humble effort to be heard and that is one such function of our freedom.