This year, I’ll finally turn an age I can’t say in Hindi. And even if I get around to finally inputting “fifteen” into Google Translate, I still won’t know how to say it: the syllables will rust and bend around my tongue like cheap metal, and I’ll roll my “r’s” in a way learned in…
American Culture and Poetry in the Internet Age
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Completely Subjective: Jeffery Harrison’s “Amnesia”
Jeffery Harrison’s poem “Amnesia,” describes a scene that most people reading the poem can easily immerse themselves in. A moment of remembering something, but it being on the tip of your tongue— a memory you can almost reach, yet one that becomes murky once specific details are required. Harrison was born in Cincinnati in 1957…
Completely Subjective: Anne Carson’s “A Fragment of Ibykos Translated Six Ways”
“[T]his is the magic of fragments—the way that poem breaks off leads into a thought that can’t ever be apprehended. There is the space where a thought would be, but which you can’t get hold of. I love that space. It’s the reason I like to deal with fragments. Because no matter what the thought…
“The Space Between Us”: Six Questions for Ama Codjoe
As the music played through the loudspeaker I let it guide my body as I moved to the familiar rhythm. Counting the melody in my mind, I begin to dance the instinctual movements, the result of hours of practice. All other thoughts pushed aside, the world melts away; it is just me practicing my art,…
“You Know Now What’s Real”: Eight Questions for Timothy Donnelly
Every time I’m on social media, I see some crazy video that just makes me stop in awe and ask the question, “Is that really real?” Our digitalized world in the 21st century has spiraled out of control. The overabundance of media on platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, etc. has become integrated into our lives…
Completely Subjective: Alex Dimitrov’s “Love”
Optimists are some of the scariest people out there. Not the kind that see the glass half full or see the greener grass on their side of life. I’d go as far as identifying myself with that kind of optimist (occasionally). No, I’m referring to those who see the glass half overflowing, those who seem…
Completely Subjective: Margaret Atwood’s “Tell Me Something Good”
Fine, I’ll admit it: I watch the news every night, and I’m proud of it. This is a fact that my friends and peers are often appalled to hear. “How could you do that to yourself?” they remark, or “I could never, that’s too depressing.” And, to the critics I say, “Yeah, you might be…
“What is Sexy”: Eight Questions for Laura Cronk
Sometimes I think about how hard it is to really pay attention. Most days, I’m scrolling, multitasking, or half-listening. But poetry, at least the kind that makes you stop and breathe, demands something slower. That’s what drew me to Laura Cronk’s work, which finds beauty in the unnoticed. The light shining on an iron fence,…
“The Forbidden Fruit of Finally Feeling the Happiness You Were Afraid You Didn’t Deserve-”: Eight Questions for Michael Lally
I’ve always been fascinated with the little things people say when they think nobody is listening. The things people say under their breath and the silent thoughts someone is obviously having when spaced out mid-conversation. Those moments, the ones that feel raw and real, not polished and tied up in a bow. I like hearing…