Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

December 4, 2008 10:52:13 AM CST

Learn about Newser Points »

poetry

poetry news stories

9 Stories

OPINION

 Sarah Palin, Accidental Poet 


Slate Slate Oct 2, 08 6:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - The past month has seen Sarah Palin become a vice presidential candidate, anti-feminist or feminist icon (depending on whom you ask) and ... a poet? Hart Seely, in Slate, transforms excerpts from the Alaska governor's interview transcripts into verse. Check out "Good and Evil": It is obvious to me / Who the good guys are in this one / And who the bad guys are. / The bad guys are the ones / Who say Israel is a stinking corpse, / And should be wiped off / The face of the earth. / That's not a good guy. More »

More about:  Election 2008 • Sarah Palin • GOP • vice presidential candidate • poetry

An Outsider Becomes Poet Laureate

Kay Ryan, master of introverted verse, takes the national stage

New York Times New York Times Jul 17, 08 7:54 AM CDT
(Newser) - Kay Ryan, a poet from Fairfax, Calif., with a reputation as an individualist, has been chosen as the nation's new poet laureate. The 62-year-old writer is known for her sly, concise verse that incorporates plays on words and uses intricate rhyme structures. Despite receiving many of the field's highest accolades, Ryan remains something of an outsider, writes the New York Times . More »

More about:  literature • poetry • National Endowment for the Arts • poet laureate

Astronomers Trace Homer's Wandering Hero

Experts tie Odysseus' return to Ithaca with
real eclipse in 1178

New York Times New York Times Jun 24, 08 9:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - Homer's Odyssey is 2,700 years old, and the events it describes happened centuries earlier. But two scientists claim in a new paper that they've traced one line in the epic poem—a possible reference to an eclipse—to a real astronomical event. Classicists might take issue, writes the New York Times , but the astronomers say that Odysseus' return to Ithaca coincided with a solar eclipse on April 16, 1178 BC. More »

More about:  astronomy • Greece • poetry • solar eclipse • eclipse • ancient Greece • Homer

Bored at Work? Site Disguises Classic Lit

Readatwork.com lets you fool the boss

Wall Street Journal Wall Street Journal May 30, 08 2:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - Business world got you down? Want to escape into a classic poem or short story? The New Zealand Book Council has made a website to help you: ReadatWork.com. The site brings up a fake Windows desktop with folders and PowerPoint files, the Wall Street Journal reports. Click on them, and you get classic literature disguised as a business presentation. More »

More about:  literature • website • reading • novel • office • corporate culture • poetry

 Cambridge
 Poetry
 Students
 Analyze This 

Notorious partier-songwriter's lyrics compared to 16th Century poem

Daily Telegraph (UK) Daily Telegraph (UK) May 27, 08 2:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - Stodgy? Never! Cambridge University surprised its English students with an exam requesting literary analysis of Amy Winehouse lyrics last week. Students compared a poem by 16th century poet and ne’er-do-well adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh with Winehouse’s “Love is a Losing Game,” and songs by Bob Dylan and Billie Holiday, reported the Telegraph . More »

More about:  Amy Winehouse • poetry • English literature • Cambridge University

 Famously Bad Poet Fetches Big Bucks at Auction

Verses from the 'world's worst poet' fetch big bucks at auction

Wall Street Journal Wall Street Journal May 17, 08 8:05 AM CDT
(Newser) - William McGonagall had a tough time after deciding poetry was his calling, being roundly insulted by critics and even pelted with rotten fruit. But the 19th-century Scotsman has been remembered long after his peers—as the worst poet ever to mangle the English language. His works commanded a price higher than a J.K Rowling first edition at an auction yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »

More about:  literature • JK Rowling • Scotland • poetry

Burma's Pens Mightier Than Censors

Info-starved population gets creative to bypass government's gags

Christian Science Monitor Christian Science Monitor Feb 13, 08 1:17 PM CST
(Newser) - Never shy about censorship, Burma has cracked down even more since September's monk uprising—no small event in a country that ranks 164th out of 168 on the Press Freedom Index. But information-starved citizens are finding creative ways to circumvent an extreme government that bans even benign news about soccer team losses, the Christian Science Monitor reports. More »

More about:  Burma • censorship • Burma protest • monks • poetry • Democratic Voice of Burma

'I Don't Have Cancer,' Giuliani Reiterates

Presidential hopeful says he's 'perfectly healthy'

Newsday Newsday Dec 24, 07 5:24 PM CST
(Newser) - Rudy Giuliani sought to allay renewed concerns about his health today following his brief hospitalization last week. "I'm perfectly healthy. I don't have cancer," he said during a stop in Harlem. Giuliani, who checked into a St. Louis hospital because of a severe headache and flu symptoms, said doctors found no signs of a recurrence of the prostate cancer that ended his Senate campaign seven years ago. More »

More about:  Rudy Giuliani • cancer • Christmas • poetry • story

Surrealist Simic Named Poet Laureate

15th national bard known for his dark humor and irony

New York Times New York Times Aug 2, 07 12:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Charles Simic, a surrealist poet whose style gleams with dark imagery and ironic humor, will be named the United States' 15th poet laureate today. The 69-year-old, who replaces fellow New Hampshirite Donald Hall, has published more than 20 volumes of poetry as well as essay collections, translations and a memoir. More »

More about:  literature • America • humor • poetry • Library of Congress • Yugoslavia • Pulitzer Prize • creative writing • irony • poet laureate

9 Stories

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser a team of editors and writers culls the most important stories from hundreds of U.S. and international sources and reduces them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. It's the Newser guarantee: we can take any report or column or video and pack what you need to know into 120 words or less. Newser's short-form aggregation, visual format, and unique information tools help you get more of the kind of news you want, in a quicker and more entertaining way. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »