Michael's Poetry Nook

2006-06-21T06:49:00.000-07:00

UB's Electronic Poetry Site is great for modern poetry and poets from the last hundred years, but where, you ask, would you find information on all the classical poets? Look no further than the Poetry Archives. In addition to the hundreds of archived poems, there is a helpful discussion board where people can posts questions and insights about their favorite poet.
I decided to look up John Keats, a man who is revered as one of the best even though he lived just 26 years and was panned by the critics for much of his work. Here is one of his more famous poems that eeriely anticipates his tragic death.

When I Have Fears

When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,
Before high-piled books, in charactery,
Hold like rich garners the full ripen'd grain;
When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love;--then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.

2006-06-19T12:11:00.000-07:00

I wanted to start a page dedicated to poetry in some way, while maintaining a credible link to the world of technology. An invaluable technological resource for poetry was built right in this here town of Buffalo, and it's called the Electronic Poetry Center, located at the University at Buffalo. If you click on the link, you'll be taken to a site loaded with hundreds of poets and poems for your perusal. The sad thing about the site, and something I noticed as a student at UB, was that the majority of students who attend the school are not aware of the Poetry Center's existence. What I've come to find out is that the site was one of the first of it's kind, and has been accessed all over the world and is one of the most popular "E-Poetry" sites in existence.
Although the list of poets is overwhelming, especially if you aren't familiar with alot of them, I decided to look up one of my favorites, Jack Spicer. Here is a poem from his book Admonitions, which is particularly fitting after last weekend:

For Jack

Tell everyone to have guts
Do it yourself
Have guts until the guts
Come through the margins
Clear and pure
Like love is.
The word changes
Grows obscure
Like someone
In the coldness of the scarey night air
Says-
Dad
I want your voice.

2006-06-19T06:14:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome, my name is michael.
for more information, contact me at: vitrmj96@mail.buffalostate.edu
to view my social blog, go to: http://vitrmj96.blogspot.com