Wish I could go to this.

Quoted: Poetryfoundation.org and McSweeney's host a reading with poets Kwame Dawes, Mary Karr, Yusef Komunyakaa, Patricia Smith, and Rachel Zucker. In addition to reading from their own work, the poets will be invited to share with the audience the best poem they have read in the past year. A book signing will follow the reading.

He sounds like such a fun character. I love this quote...

Quoted: Mr. Simic, speaking by telephone from his home in Strafford, N.H., described himself as a “city poet” because he has “lived in cities all of my life, except for the last 35 years.”

A useful site for finding poems and related information.

Quoted: Search thousands of poems by theme, occasion, and subject in our poetry archive; and read poet biographies, poetry news, comics, and articles about poets and poetry.

I haven't read anything by Wislawa Szymborska, but I hope to soon. This is a reminder.

Quoted: Subsequent volumes, such as Sól (1962; “Salt”), Sto pociech (1967; “No End of Fun”), and Wszelki wypadek (1972; “Could Have”), contain poems noteworthy for their precise, concrete language and ironic detachment.

This site links to an audio file of Komunyakaa reading "My Father's Love Letters."

Quoted: Yusef Komunyakaa was born in Bogalusa, Louisiana, in 1947. His numerous poetry collections include Taboo, Talking Dirty to the Gods; Thieves of Paradise, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics' Circle Award; Neon Vernacular: New & Selected Poems 1977-1989, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize...

Happy birthday Whitman!

Quoted: Of the day the original daguerreotype was taken, Whitman remembered, "I was sauntering along the street: the day was hot: I was dressed just as you see me there. A friend of mine—Gabriel Harrison (you know him? ah! yes!—he has always been a good friend!)—stood at the door of his place looking at the passers-by. He cried out to me at once: 'Old man!—old man!—come here: come right up stairs with me this minute'—and when he noticed that I hesitated cried still more emphatically...

Impressive online magazine. All content is available for free, and it's very easy to navigate. Sections include interviews, poetry, fiction, arts/photography, and links.

This is a great collection of the poems sent out by Knopf for their poem-a-day series. To have a poem and accompanying info e-mailed to you each day in April, here is the link: http://www.randomhouse.com/knopf/poetry/index.pperl

Quoted: In April 2006, Knopf introduced the Poem-a-Day podcast, which featured poets including Kevin Young and James Merrill reading their own poems, as well as Knopf authors such as Joan Didion and Toni Morrison reading work by their favorite poets.

John Ashbery is reading at The Drawing Center in NY next Tuesday. Admission is $5. This is a great chance to catch one of the world's most influential living poets. I'm so jealous of everyone who is able to make this.

Quoted: To kick off National Poetry Month, The Drawing Center will host a reading featuring the works of two important American poets: John Ashbery and the late Kenneth Koch. John Ashbery will read from his new volume, A Worldly Country. Ron Padgett, Koch's friend and fellow teacher, will read from his edition of Kenneth Koch: Selected Poems.