Blackbird Features, v8n1

FEATURES

Tracking the Muse published October 21, 2009
In 2007 the editors of Blackbird asked four contributors featured in our Introductions Reading Loop to write about creative process in “Tracking the Muse.” The quality of the resulting essays convinced us to make this an annual feature. This year, three poets and a short fiction writer discuss how the happenstance and anguish of revision contribute to the magic and hard work of creative expression. Enjoy commentary by Nicky Beer, Kara Candito, Thomas Cooper, and Anna Journey.

Richard Carlyon: Retrospective & Blackbird Work published September 18, 2009
Richard Carlyon was a dear friend, remarkable artist, and founding Blackbird contributor. In an unusual gesture of recognition of the central role that he played in making Richmond a dynamic home for the visual arts, four separate galleries recently mounted a re-viewing of his work. His irreplaceable sensibility and intelligence informed the art and the life, and we are fortunate to be able to present some small examples of his gifts in the Blackbird Archive

Chris Abani: A Reading and Conversation published September 16, 2009
On April 23, 2008, Jeff Lodge and Patty Paine spoke with Chris Abani on Virginia Commonwealth University’s Qatar campus. Abani was in Doha as a guest speaker for the ongoing Image, Word, and Voice lecture series, a forum for writers and artists to discuss various topics of twenty-first century humanities. Presented here is audio of the Abani reading, as well as a conversation with the author.
A Reading by Meghan O’Rourke published July 15, 2009
Meghan O’Rourke read from her work on February 27, 2008, as part of the annual Poetic Principles reading series at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. She read from her new book Halflife and concluded by discussing her recent work and reading several unpublished poems. Included here also is an introductory essay by Randy Marshall, previously included in Platform, a pamphlet published by New Virginia Review, Inc.

Introductions published May 11, 2009
Each spring we use the Introductions Reading Loop to bring to your attention writers whose work you may be encountering for the first time. In this issue, the group includes several who have already made their way to other lists and anthologies acclaiming their remarkable work. We expect that you will be glad to discover them now—and to hear of them again later in their careers, as you no doubt will.

Poetic Principles: A Reading by Claudia Emerson published May 11, 2009
Claudia Emerson read from her work on November 5, 2008, to open the annual Poetic Principles reading series at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. She presented work from Figure Studies, as well as unpublished poems. Included here also is an introductory essay by Randy Marshall, previously included in Platform, a pamphlet published by New Virginia Review to provide a general reader with a context for approaching contemporary writers.

A Reading by Jean Valentine published May 11, 2009
Poet Jean Valentine read at 1708 Gallery in Richmond, Virginia, on February 14, 2008, as a part of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Visiting Writers Series. After an introduction by David Wojahn, Valentine read selections from her two latest books, Little Boat and the National Book Award–winning Door in the Mountain. She concluded by reading work that appeared in The New Yorker as well as previously unpublished poems.

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