Happy Deathday Mr. Ignatow!

On this day in 1997, American poet, David Ignatow died at the age of 83.

During his literary career, Ignatow worked as an editor of American Poetry Review, Analytic, Beloit Poetry Journal, and Chelsea Magazine, and as poetry editor of The Nation. His many honors include a Bollingen Prize in Poetry, two Guggenheim fellowships, the John Steinbeck Award, and a National Institute of Arts and Letters award “for a lifetime of creative effort.” He received the Shelley Memorial Award (1966), the Frost Medal (1992), and the William Carlos Williams Award (1997) of the Poetry Society of America.

Rescue the Dead, published in 1968, is one of those books every writer should have in their arsenal. It is emotionally exhausting to read but never fails to inspire.The poems in this collection are both horrifying and hopeful. Ignatow brings us face to face with death; the permanence of it, the simplicity of it… even the beauty in it. It is a masterpiece, not to be missed!

A few other collections that may interest you are, Tread the Dark, Leaving the Door Open and Living Is What I Wanted: Last Poems. Ignatow’s writing is infused with urban grit and wry humor and we just adore him for that! Whether he is writing about urban America, family relations, suicide, death or social change, he is always insightful.

Tonight, write about a death. A friend, a family member, someone you’ve never met… your own. Write the truest lines you’ll ever write.

Write on in peace, Mr. Ignatow!

Happy Deathday, Mr. Neruda!

On this day in 1973, beloved Chilean poet and 1971 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for Literature, Pablo Neruda, died of prostate cancer at the age of 69.

Neruda’s impact on other poets cannot be denied and due to the sheer volume of his work, there is little chance of Neruda ever being forgotten. Translations of his work can be found in almost every language and his poetry has been widely featured in popular music, film and even modern literature.  Longing, passion, love… these are all central themes of Neruda’s universally beloved work.

If you are a Neruda fan and have never seen Il Postino, a film released in the nineties, we highly recommend that you go rent it or add it to your Netflix queue right now! The film’s soundtrack is also quite good and features various celebrities reading some of Neruda’s most moving love poetry. 

Our favorite collections of Neruda’s work include World’s End , Crepuscularioand On the Blue Shore of Silence: Poems of the Sea, all of which can be found in English. If you are interested in a good biography of Neruda, we suggest a look at his memoirs which was co-written with Hardie St. Martin. It is simply called Memoirs.

This evening, we encourage our single readers to go out there and find your heart’s companion! Take a chance on love and expose your inner passions! For our couples out there…well… dim the lights, pop open a nice cab and read some Neruda to each other… satisfaction guaranteed!

Write on in peace Mr. Neruda!

HAPPY NATIONAL POETRY MONTH!

May the muses be with you all today, and every day this month! We encourage you all to get out there start submitting. Take chances! Submit your work to places you wouldn’t normally. Share your art this month. Do a spontaneous reading… be bold.

Google Pays Homage to Jules Verne

While we won’t be honoring this tremendous author until his death day on March 24th, we will give a small shout out to the folks at Google who have turned their home page into an interactive homage to the great Jules Verne, in honor of his birthday - which is today, February 8th.

Just go to the google homepage to check it out. Verne, along with Hugo Gernsback and H.G. Wells, is often popularly referred to as the “Father of Science Fiction”. He was the author of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Around the World in Eighty Days and Journey to the Center of the Earth, to name a few… but as we said, more on that in March!

Happy Deathday Ms. Austen!

On July 18th in 1817, one of England’s best loved female authors died of what is now believed to have been bovine tuberculosis. That darling of British literature was none other than Ms. Jane Austen.

Jane Austen’s name has become synonymous with nineteenth century realism lit, but would you believe this wonderfully talented writer was hardly considered “one of the greats” until the 1940s - many years after her death?!

Her best known, if not her best work, Pride and Prejudice, was also her first. It was written between October 1796 and August 1797, although it was not published until 1813, two years after Sense and Sensibility, which was written 1797 and 1798. In fact, Ms. Austen had a rather hard time initially finding a publisher!! If that is not encouragement for our budding writers out there, we’re not sure what is!

Her novels have been parodied, studied, turned into films and stage productions and flat out imitated hundreds upon hundreds of times! We cannot stress what a huge figure in popular culture, Jane Austen has become. If you have not read her work, we guarantee you have at least seen it parodied on Family Guy… or perhaps you’ve seen the bollywood remake Bride and Prejudice? Either way, you must read some Austen if you’ve not had the pleasure… she really is such a treat! If you are unable to get to your local library, check out this great resource: http://www.austen.com/novels.htm

Today, we hope our readers will pay homage to this wonderful writer by thoroughly observing the relationships around you… remember, no matter how insignificant the
“little details” might seem, Jane Austen would have noticed them!

Write on in peace, Ms. Austen!

Happy Deathday Mr. Vonnegut!

A few years ago in April of 2007, American novelist Kurt Vonnegut, took a fall in his Manhattan home and died on April 11th from serious brain injuries endured during the fall. He lived to be 84 years old.                  

Vonnegut is known for his satirical, science fiction flavored, politically charged work and for his confessional style, which is perhaps most obvious in his post-suicide attempt essays. Of his most notable work, you may recall the novels Cat’s Cradle, (which earned him a Master’s degree) Slaughterhouse 5 and Breakfast of Champions. The latter two, though more “experimental” in structure actually tend to be more popular- particularly in recent years.

His writing is like dreaming. Thoughts sometimes crash into each other or they veer off into some other stream of consciousness you never imagined existed…Sometimes- you’re not even sure if your narrator is reliable at all… We love Vonnegut here at Dead Writers Club!

If you’ve not read any of his work, we recommend you start with his very first short story “Report on the Barnhouse Effect”. And if you’re interested in a great article about Mr. Vonnegut check out “Kurt Vonnegut’s Final Interview(s)” on observer.com

We also strongly encourage our readers in Colorado to stop by the Wynkoop Brewing Company and enjoy a pint of Kurt’s Mile High Malt!

So it goes.