Robert Pinsky.By Chauncey MabeAs America’s only three-time poet laureate, Robert Pinsky would appear perfectly suited to deliver a “State of the Nation”-style disquisition.Who better to survey the role of poetry in contemporary life -- the challenges (and opportunities) presented by the digital revolution, the rise of spoken-word and hip-hop, the advent of the … [Read more...]
Arts feature: Poetry festival starts somberly, ends in joy
Poet Marie Howe.By Chauncey MabeIn the dark times, will there also be singing?Yes, there will be singing. About the dark times.-- Bertolt BrechtA somber tone dominated the sixth edition of the Palm Beach Poetry Festival, with the distinguished faculty focusing on “poems of witness” and elegies for the dead. Yet by Saturday, the busy last day of the festival, the atmosphere had … [Read more...]
Arts feature: Palm Beach Poetry Festival bigger than ever
Miles Coon, left, and Delray Beach Mayor Woodie McDuffie,with a proclamation making Jan. 18-23Delray Beach Poetry Week.(Photo by Michiko Kurisu) By Chauncey MabeMiles Coon did not build the Palm Beach Poetry Festival into one of Florida’s top literary events in five short years by being cautious.After last year’s economically troubled festival, when one workshop had to be … [Read more...]