Poem of the Week: Marrying the Hangman by Margaret Atwood

Ligeia, from Edgar Allan Poe’s poem of the same name. Both poems focus heavily on themes of marriage, bondage, death, and sinister new life. | Illustration by Harry Clarke, 1919. “Marrying the Hangman” She has been condemned to death by hanging. A man may escape this death by becoming the hangman, a woman by marrying the hangman.

Poem of the Week: Eating Walnuts

The old man eating walnuts knows the trick: you do it wrong for many years, applying pressure to the seams, to split the shell along its hemispheres. It seems so clear and easy. There’s the line. You follow the instructions, then your snack ends up quite pulverized. You sweep your lap, and mutter, try again.

Poem of the Week: Broom, by Jim Harrison

This week’s poem of the week is in memory of Michigan’s own Jim Harrison, who died this past weekend at the age of 78. Broom To remember you’re alive visit the cemetery of your father at noon after you’ve made love and are still wrapped in a mammalian odor that you are forced to cherish. Under

Call for Readers – Festival of Listening

Astros y fuentes y flores, no murmuréis de mis sueños, Sin ellos, ¿cómo admiraros ni cómo vivir sin ellos? – Rosalía de Castro We’re now accepting readers for the Festival of Listening – An Evening of Untranslated Poetry at (scene) Metrospace on Tuesday, March 1. Any and all languages are welcome! In the past, we’ve

Frogpond associate editor, Center for Poetry to start haiku study group

By Kelsey Block Starting in February, the Center for Poetry is partnering with East Lansing haiku poet Michele Root-Bernstein to create a haiku study group. The group will meet on the third Saturday of every month from 1 – 3 p.m. in Snyder hall, C302. The first session is on February 20. The study group

Father and son duo Marvin and Nathan Bell visit Center for Poetry

By Kelsey Block Poet Marvin Bell and songwriter Nathan Bell joined the RCAH Center for Poetry on November 11 as guests in our annual Fall Writing Series. Marvin Bell served two terms as the state of Iowa’s first poet laureate. His son, Nathan Bell is a singer and songwriter. Click here to listen to the

2015 Book Sale a Success

Thursday, September 17, the RCAH Center for Poetry hosted our annual used book sale. The sale brought in more than $1,300, which will help us to continue to bring in poets, performers and writers throughout the year. Many thanks to everyone who came out to the sale! P.S. If you’d like to donate books for next

Valentine’s Murder Ballad Workshop

Valentine’s Murder Ballad Workshop, a set on Flickr. This past Monday, RCAH alums Emily Nott and Linnea Jimison, both of the Lansing-based band The Bard Owls, led a workshop on the evolution of the murder ballad and helped participants create their own gruesome ballad, just in time for Valentine’s Day! It was the first musical

Poem of the Week: “My Ambition” by James Laughlin

For Wade Hall is to become a footnote in a learned work of the   22nd century   not just a “cf” or a “see” but a sol-   id note such as Raby gives Walafrid Straho in Christ-   ian Latin Poetry or Ernst Robert Curtius (the most   erudite German who ever lived) devotes to Alber-  

High School Poetry Competition Winners

Congratulations to the winners of our 5th Annual Richard Benvenuto High School Poetry Competition! They visited the Center for Poetry last night to read their winning poems. From left: Jenna Wang, 2nd place (International Academy Central); Katie Peterson, 3rd place (Brighton High School); and Jessi Bowser, 1st place (West Bloomfield High School).