Unclassifiable Poetry

Poetry

BEWARE THE NICHE PEOPLE!

roger-de-la-fresnaye-the architect

WE’VE NOTICED that some literary people like to put other writers into a niche. Such as, “Exactly what kind of poet are you? Are you a flarf poet or an Instapoet or a beat poet, or a trad, or a lake poet, or Elizabethan or Edwardian, or maybe Victorian, modernist or hip-hop, or really, what kind of poet after all do you claim to be what box can we put you in how do we classify you, where can we put you to shorthand you, dismiss you, or otherwise find some way to short circuit our brains so we don’t have to THINK?”

(It’s a variation on labeling everyone according to party or politics: Wear the proper name tag and don’t ever switch sides or change beliefs.)

Which is a roundabout way of saying we have more poetry today, “‘That’ll do, Pig’ and Two Other Poems” by James D. Casey IV, who claims to write every kind of poem, and based on the evidence he’s provided, we believe him. Three poems. Hope you like them.

I’ve dreamt of hunting
vampires with Bukowski
and getting in barfights
with Hemingway and dodging
bats with Thompson and being
lost in the desert with Jim

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ON OTHER FRONTS, we have a book review of a short (four stories) short story collection by talented story writer Elizabeth Simsand:

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THE 3-D STORY

the bargeman fernand leger

WE CONTINUE to ask questions at our NPL News blog about whether or not the short story form needs to change– we strongly believe it does– as we lay the groundwork for the coming release of our solution: the Three-Dimensional Story. A lot going on.
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(Art: “”Simultaneous Windows” by Robert Delaunay; “The Architect” by Roger de la Fresnaye; “The Bargeman” by Fernand Leger.)

 

Poetry: The Vanishing Church?

Poetry

WE’RE not political but we try to be topical.

Tradition is under assault as never before. Will the foundations of our civilization be wiped from our computers, our minds, our memory banks? Our traditions and history, our institutions, are flawed, sure, as mankind is irrational and flawed. Many want us to start over with a blank slate. To wipe away all tradition, roots, past.

A lobotomy is a blank slate.

THESE musings prodded by our new featured poetry, In a Darkened Cathedral and Other Poems by Benjamin Welton. Thought-provoking poems for a contentious and thought-provoking time.

The priest, an old man, is in bed.
I am the only one left in a rotten pew.
The gray stone walls leak with black moisture.

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ALSO, almost on topic is our latest New Pop Lit News post– an editorial on the emptiness of our post-truth age.

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(Painting of St. Peter’s by Giovanni Paolo Panini.)

 

Censors in Literature

Controversy

IN THE CROSS HAIRS?

HAS the coverage at our NPL News blog– of attempts to remove, blacklist, blackball, censor, ban, or banish writers as diverse as Junot Diaz, Rachel Custer, Jay Asher, and Joseph Massey, from jobs and web sites; or label them with a gamut of crimes– made ourselves a target of self-appointed literary cops?

IS ONE allowed to hold a contrary viewpoint– on these issues or other issues?

NO ONE covers happenings in today’s literary scene as thoroughly and fearlessly as ourselves. Here are our most recent posts on the issue of book-world censorship, with more to follow.

“Power Grabbers of Literature”

“Should Writers Be Purged?”

“Who Defends Artistic Expression?”

“Public Denunciations in Art”

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(Art: “Premier Disque” by Robert Delaunay.)

The Battle Over Speech 2018

Controversy

Which side are YOU on?

The BATTLE over freedom of speech in America is heating up– and New Pop Lit is in the middle of it.

AT our New Pop Lit News blog we’ve been covering the squelching of speech; the censoring, banning, and blackballing of writers occurring RIGHT NOW across the internet.

banned

Three recent articles:

-A controversial Report about editors censoring, or apologizing for, writers at an Ohio State journal and at other venues.

-A Report about the removal of a Junot Diaz podcast from a book-world site, and the rationale behind this.

-A Report about the media frenzy generated by anonymous accusations against another prominent author, Jay Asher.

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FURTHER, to exhibit our belief that any topic is fair game for the talented writer, we’re reviving our Open Mic with an audio reading by D.C. Miller of his strange, perplexing, and provocative poem, “Antifa Whore.” 

We’re out to have fun– but every so often we’ll test the envelope. To misquote a critic, we’re diet edgy.

(But we also want people to know what side we’re on where freedom of expression is concerned.)
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(Art: “The Brawl” by Ernest Meissonier.)

New Pop Lit News is Here!

Announcement, News, Opinion

Hey, everybody!

I’m thrilled to announce that NPL will now have it’s own news feature, New Pop Lit News, complete with our dedicated correspondent, Lloyd Poast! Catch our paper in the Coffeehouse!

Lloyd will keep you informed about changes in the literary world, as well as pop news, such as New York Comic Con ’14!

Welcome, Lloyd!

Also, don’t miss Karl’s latest, Ten Unanswered Questions about Tao Lin, where our editor asks ten painful questions about Tao’s *strange* career.