Tag Archives: poetry

‘She Didn’t Do Innocence’

Posted on October 18, 2023 by JMN

“With students, sometimes she suggested that they try silence, not working at all. That, she believed, might be best for someone who was writing the wrong poems or producing too much.” (Colm Tóibín) She insisted on calling herself a writer. … Continue reading →

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‘2013-8-15’

Posted on October 15, 2023 by JMN

This is the second of 3 poems by Zakaria Mohammed published in the September 2023 edition of Poetry magazine. They date from 2013. (I noted the first one here). English translations by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha are in the Poetry issue … Continue reading →

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Does ‘Maieutic’ Rhyme With ‘Epizootic’?

Posted on October 3, 2023 by JMN

“Rhyme is a bit like metaphor, a way of asserting a resemblance between otherwise distant terms.” (Kamran Javadizadeh) There’s the rhyming of abducted words pressed into sonic servitude on a lick and a whim, screaming at the end of their … Continue reading →

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Zakaria Mohammed’s Poem ‘2013-1-2’

Posted on September 30, 2023 by JMN

The September edition of Poetry magazine publishes 3 poems by Palestinian poet Zakaria Mohammed. English translations by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha accompany the Arabic texts. She publishes a translator’s note as well. The poet’s death on August 2, 2023, is noted … Continue reading →

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‘So Pure and Unobstructed by Metaphor’

Posted on September 17, 2023 by JMN

It’s so pure and so unobstructed by metaphor in a way that I find disarming and really courageous. (Fred Gibson) Fred Gibson’s phrase “unobstructed by metaphor” riveted me on first hearing (NYT Audio, “The xx Singer’s Solo Album Is Its … Continue reading →

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The Poem of ^Umar ibn Abī Rabī^a

Posted on September 5, 2023 by JMN

^Umar ibn Abī Rabī^a, son of a wealthy merchant of Mecca, lived ca. 643-719 A.D. His legend is that of a womanizer, his verses said to be “the greatest crime ever committed against God.” 1 If only Hind would keep … Continue reading →

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The Bull in ‘Minotaur’

Posted on August 21, 2023 by JMN

Consider this opening of “Minotaur” by Douglas Kearney: MINOTAUR The best part,how we make topart the beastfrom its self. The illusion fostered by the abrupt entrée en matière is that of a conversation suddenly caught on a hot mic. The … Continue reading →

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Where Has All the Rhyming Gone?

Posted on August 18, 2023 by JMN

By all accounts poetry was the first literature of the sundry peoples. It predated writing, so rhyme, rhythm and alliteration helped rhapsodes and minstrels hold it in their heads. In contemporary lyric rhyme is absent (thank goodness), alliteration rare; rhythm … Continue reading →

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‘The Round Jubilance of Peach’

Posted on August 17, 2023 by JMN

Can a person swear for joy? It’s what I do. My reflex on encountering a poem that triggers a rush of involvement on first reading is to let fly a putatively disobliging epithet. It’s a reverb from the salutary shock … Continue reading →

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The Poem of al-Khansā’

Posted on August 12, 2023 by JMN

Al-Khansā’, born near the end of the 6th century A.D., is renowned for elegies she composed for her slain brothers Mu^āwiya and Saẖr. Line 5, midway through the poem, is notable for the brusque transition to aggrieved resignation leading into … Continue reading →

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