The different ways in which two American Indian poets, Paula Gunn Allen and Joy Harjo, realize the fusion of the individual, the Southwest landscape, and a sensibility about the nature of existence in a realm called "mythic space" is clarified by showing how each approaches the concept of the moon. (SB)

Relates experiences teaching creative writing to prison inmates. Suggests that writing not only provides a much needed release from prison tension, but it also acts as a defense against inmates' experience of depersonalization. (MM)

Discusses poetry perception in terms of levels of penetration. Describes the first level as completely prelinguistic; the second as evolving towards meaning and language through intonation; and all further levels presupposing at least partial mastery of the poet's language. Also discusses problems of poetry translation. (Executive Office of the…

Examines the relationship between self and modernism in the context of Sri Lankan poetry in English. The dissolution of the unitary self and the problem of its representation in literature are closely linked to the dynamics of writing in English in a country in the Outer Circle. (24 references) (JL)

Explores the context within which the early masterpieces of Tennyson and Picasso were created, the style and substance of the work themselves, and the possible relationships between their young and old selves as mediated by their own artistic creations. Notes similarities between Tennyson and Picasso. Contends people may also transcend their…

Argues against Thomas O. Sloane's allegation that John Milton's "Artis Logicae," a commentary on Pierre de la Ramee's "Dialecticae libri duo," manifests antihumanism characteristics of Milton and Ramus. Reexamines Milton's account of probability, the links between Ramus and Cicero, and the roles Ramism played in sixteenth- and…

Presents an interview with poet and teacher Barbara Juster Esbensen, 1994 recipient of the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. (SR)

Chronicles the evolution of the position of consultant in poetry (in 1989, officially titled Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry) at the Library of Congress from the 1930s to the present. Poets highlighted include Howard Nemerov, Alan Tate, Robert Penn Warren, Robert Hayden, Joseph Brodsky, Rita Dove, and Stanley Kunitz. A sidebar discusses…

Yale professor Harold Bloom has concluded that cultural guilt has resulted in a 30-year intellectual decline in which politics has come to dominate U.S. poetry. Four leading African-American poets comment critically on Bloom's conclusions. (SLD)

Discusses four poems by William Carlos Williams used to teach creative writing to college students. Uses "Portrait of a Woman in Red" and "The Last Words of My English Grandmother" because they contain speakers who are clearly not the poet, which gives undergraduate students opportunities to discuss details Williams uses to…

This column cites five poets (Pat Mora, Jane Yolen, Lilian Moore, Gary Soto, and J. Patrick Lewis) that will be highlighted in the January to May 2006 issues. This information can be used to begin a Poet's Fan Club in the classroom. Groups of students can select a poet in order to prepare for a forthcoming Poet of the Month display. Another idea…

A self-proclaimed technophobe, Kuroly takes the plunge with his eighth-grade class. As a group, they learn PowerPoint, research poets on the Web, and record favorite poems, all of which results in a triumphant series of PowerPoint presentations on favorite poets.