May We Always Be Amateurs
Nonrequired Reading: Prose Pieces Wislawa Szymborska Translated from the Polish by Clare Cavanagh Herein are a few score short pieces by the Nobel laureate (Literature, 1996), usually no more than a page or two, although…
Category: Poets
Marvelous Error!
for all dear friends who are returning, all dear friends who are leaving, and all dear friends who are staying … Last night, as I was sleeping, I dreamt—marvelous error!— that a spring was…
Le Monomanie Merveilleux
Learn it by heart Sur mes cahiers d’écolier Summon it when staring into the abyss Sur toutes les pages blanches Translate it into new millennial American English Sur l’écho de mon enfance One year, translate…
Come, Beloved by Meera
As the lotus dies without water, As the night is blind without the moon, So is my heart without you, Beloved. I wander alone at night, Driven by my longing for you. I hunger for…
Viva Tang
Ten thousand and two texts A thousand and three tweets 644 Facebook status updates 87 cell phone messages save or delete Enough already! Take a deep breath Leave behind the technology And go out To…
I Know the Richest Person on Earth
1. In our Intercultural Studies class today Mariah, Ta’mare, and Rachel read the following stanzas Of “Our True Heritage” by Thích Nhất Hạnh: The cosmos is filled with precious gems. I want to offer a…
Neruda Night! Latin America Reading Group for March
“There is something about Neruda—about the way he glorifies experience, about the spontaneity and directness of his passion—that sets him apart from other poets. It is hard not to be swept away by the urgency…
Hedy & Heine
The year after Mev died I read a lot of literature– Poetry, novels, plays One volume I took refuge in Was a bi-lingual edition of Heine’s Songs of Love & Grief I have a favorite…
A Poem by Lâm Thị Mỹ Dạ
Như lúa hỏi đất Anh có tốt không ? Như cây hỏi gió Anh có tốt không ? Như mấy hỏi trời Anh có tốt không ? Trời anh mênh mông Mây em bay lượn
The Cry of Vietnam
Published in 1968, The Cry of Vietnam is a short collection of heart-breaking poems and stirring drawings by Thich Nhat Hanh and Vo-Dinh. The book’s epigraph is taken from the classic Vietnamese work, The Tale…