The very name of the Great Reformation implies progress. But I see Martin Luther's nailing of the theses to the church door as a rearrangement of control. In this poem, I wanted to play with the idea of an earth-shattering litany, embedding it in my own experience of quasi-exceptional life: I was a tourist in a place I’d “seen” in countless movies and books. Finally (and most importantly), I wanted to have fun writing a list.
Patty Nash on "Metropolitan" |
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"First Gaelic poet appointed Scotland's Makar"
“Lewis-born Peter Mackay says he is keen to use his new role as the national poet to champion his native tongue, but not at the expense of other languages. He told BBC Scotland News: 'I write mainly in Gaelic and English, and sometimes Scots. We are a multi-lingual nation so it's important to find ways to speak to each other.' The original makars were medieval poets or bards, often tied to the royal court and expected to make work for significant occasion."
via BBC |
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What Sparks Poetry:
Vincent Toro on Language as Form
"Form is not merely shape, it’s concept. It’s not merely a concept, it is a vessel for culture that transmits the values and ways of a people....When our own forms are marginalized or entirely ignored while an oppressor culture forcefully imposes their own forms on us, some of us are going to act reflexively to such an action, and some of us are going to make it a mission to reclaim our own forms and create space for them to be appreciated and respected in equal proportion. This is, in part, the reason for my devotion to the décima." |
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