Tag Archives: poetry

Rollicking Chin Wag Introduces ‘Mumble Rap’

Posted on September 11, 2025 by JMN

The New York Times recorded interview with Earl Sweatshirt was a freewheeling romp by a voluble cohort of cognoscenti. High spirits prevailed. The three-way session was suffused with knowing guffaws, spicy vernacular and poignant insider allusion. For the hip-hop-curious outsider … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

This Is Now (Again)

Posted on September 1, 2025 by JMN

“He’s also piercingly smart about his place as a white observer in a Black art form.” (Jayson Greene, on Daniel Levin Becker) Before you-know-who was president, I encountered something called Twitter, ran with it for maybe six weeks. That was … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

‘A Wild and Capacious Art’

Posted on August 3, 2025 by JMN

“Poetry belongs to all who write, read, sing and sign it.” (Adrian Matejka) ”A wild and capacious art” is how Adrian Matejka describes it. The editor of Poetry knows whereof he speaks, though I would hazard that other art forms … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Until We Are They?

Posted on July 26, 2025 by JMN

“The evolution of language always encounters resistance, and sometimes outrage.” (John McWhorter) A poem by Danez Smith in Poetry, July-August 2025, titled “They/Them” should be read whole but, to be brief, starts: said short: i feel more like a stud. … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

‘Deep Blue Scrap of Lie’

Posted on July 24, 2025 by JMN

There’s a cleanly spoken, elegant poem in Poetry, May 2025, that lingers in the mind’s eye. It’s called “Infinity Pool” by Vona Groarke.  You flirt with an arresting occurrence in the liminal paralysis of semi-sleep. It nags. If not worded … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

‘I Came Into the World Very Young’

Posted on July 16, 2025 by JMN

I discovered Satie long ago through Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes, and liked the music immediately. I thought of him as a “minor” composer, and I was drawn to perceived niche tastes. I crave even now the unmoored feeling that his music … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Before Bidding Eau de Revoir to the May Issue

Posted on June 16, 2025 by JMN

Here’s something called a triolet from Poetry, May 2025. The form is new to me and strikes a chord: concision, repetition, the discipline imposed. Triolet with a Line by Sylvia Plathby Brittany Perham We take the N out to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology, Quotations | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

‘O Brute May I Come In, O Brute You May’

Posted on May 23, 2025 by JMN

My treatment of Mitchell Glazier’s “The Gazing Ball” (Poetry, May 2025) wasn’t fit for purpose because it came across as testy and dismissive. I’m not equipped nor disposed to be a poetry critic, only a consumer with thoughts. And my … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Queenly Swans Are Nudging Eternity Figs

Posted on May 22, 2025 by JMN

What the hell is going on in “The Gazing Ball”?  I had to lock horns with Mitchell Glazier’s poem (Poetry, May 2025) and break it down robustly in order to reach a fragile accommodation. I’ve come to expect having to … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

The Future Walks on Baby Feet

Posted on May 16, 2025 by JMN

Here’s my English reading of “Contar Cuentos” (Telling Stories), a poem written in Spanish by Azurea20 published at LA BANCARROTA DEL CIRCO on April 27, 2025. TELLING STORIESMy memory invents you,strips you nakedtells itself stories,closes your eyes,obliterates your mouth,discovers verbs … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments