Poetry Rules

I wish to thank the numerous poets and friends who have joined the Nuova Antologia di Poesia Americana   launch party   at the Caffè Letterario N'importe Quoi , last night. A special thank you to the amazing Brigade poets and Rome poets, Marco Cinque , Ludovica Lanini , Edoardo Olmi , Giovanna Iorio , Maria Desiderio and Enzo Lomanno . A heartfelt thank you to my American friends Jackie Murray and Dan Curley and to 4 of Skidmore's students, Helen Kirk, Kevin Wang, Mary Farrington and Emily Sater who have read so beautifully the poems in their original version. Jackie's reading of "Eurydice is Missing" by Stephen Kessler was brilliant. The way she used her cell phone in the end just had me smile. And, thank you, thank you, thank you to all my friends and to all those who were there to celebrate American Poetry with me. Grazie Beppe, Stefania, Adelaide, Carolina, Greg, Riccardo, Alan, Marco and all the RomeKids. Thank you also to my publisher Matteo Chiavarone...

I simply love walking around the city center and, as much as I know it well, it seems there is always something I haven't seen or noticed. Literally every corner hides a surprise. Here below are a few pictures I took after my stroll yesterday. Things old and new. Things I knew and things I have learnt. I hope you will enjoy the photos. Piazza Costaguti Piazza  Costaguti - The Building where poet P.P. Pasolini lived shortly Roman poet G.G. Belli was born here Church of St. Eustace Poet Aldo Palazzeschi lived here Decorated building Madonnella & Arco della Ciambella Teatro Marcello  Heading to the Tiberina Island Broken bridge

Sometimes I think I should write a poetical tour of Rome, and get it published. So many poets have fallen prey to the beauty of Rome over time and it would be nice to walk in their footsteps. Many foreign poets have left an indelible mark in our city and many Italian poets should be celebrated too. Let's check a few places. Keats and Shelley's House This is the house where Keats lived his last months and where he died on February 23rd, 1821. You can visit the room where he died, and enjoy the many relics the museum holds. There are locks of hair of Keats, Shelley and Bryon, handwritten letters and poems (a fragment of "Lamia" that always brings tears to my eyes), funerary masks and one of the most beautiful views of the Spanish Steps. This place is steeped in history and walking in Keats's very footsteps is quite moving. Keats and Shelley's House (1st building on the right) The Non-Catholic Cemetery (or, Protestant Cemetery) Close to the only s...

April is here to stay and you should really do something poetic this month whether you are a Poet or not. Here is a few ideas of how you might celebrate poetry for the coming 30 days:  1. Read a poem a day  2. Write a poem a day (if you need prompts, you may enjoy Kelli Agodon 's  here )  3. Listen to poets read their poems (try YouTube, I am suggesting one I love here )  4. Watch a movie or docu-movie about a poet ( Bright Star , Sylvia , etc. My suggestion here )  5. Attend a reading  6. Take part in a reading  7. Record some poems to send to your family or friends  8. Buy a poetry collection, or more (choose indie bookstores whenever you can!)  9. Take poetry to work (delight your colleagues!) 10. Buy some chalk and write your lines in the streets (be a street poet!) 11. Leave some poems in a cafe for others to read 12. Buy a poetry journal 13. Suscribe to a poetry journal 14. Write a letter or an e-mail to a poet you ...

So, it's real. After two years of hard work the Nuova Antologia di Poesia Americana  (New Anthology of American Poetry) has been released by Edizioni Ensemble. The idea came to me as I was researching information for the biography of the Poet , as I often enjoy to call him. This bio has been an extraordinary experience that has allowed me to get in touch with poets who have met Jack from the late Fifties till today. Getting to know them has also meant getting to know their amazing poetry and I am so grateful to all for having allowed me to translate some of their beautiful poems. Let me introduce you to the poets and poems included in the Anthology. Clicking on each poet's name you will be able to learn more about their life and their poetry: John Brandi - A Rose for Lorca - Architecture of An Instsnt - Time Is Short John Brandi Alvaro Cardona-Hine   - Amnesty - Years of Love - The Enthusiasm of Illusion Alvaro Cardona-Hine Terri Carr...

I must say that as much as I have always admired prose poetry, I have never tried writing any because it seemed to me that I had no real skills at it. But, last weekend I suddenly recalled episodes from my childhood in the 70s, specifically memories of the  Years of Lead in Italy and of my father, and I ended up writing one. I sent it to my poetical sister, Michelle Reale , whose prose poetry is magical, so much so that I often return to read her collections because I can't have enough of them and I love wandering in her soulscapes for a long, long time. I wanted Michelle to honestly tell me what she thought of it. Her reply made me incredibly happy. She wrote: Sorella, this is outstanding, and let me tell you why: it is highly evocative, and imagistic. It feels incredibly satisfying in this form, and, I dare say, you are quite adept at this form, which is truly my favorite! For me, an as exemplified by Seventies Blues, you encompass a whole world here. This poem made me want ...

February 11th is a date I cannot forget, being the death anniversary of two women poets I truly love. Sylvia Plath 's death makes of her an iconic martyr immolating herself on the altar of Pain. Reading about her death and her last few acts before sealing the kitchen's door inspired one my poems, " Milk and Bread ," that was first published by editor Cooper Renner in elimae and that can be read in my They Talk About Death chapbook. I am certainly not the only poet who was inspired by Sylvia's death. Thomas Rain Crowe wrote a beautiful poem--"Poem for Sylvia Plath Without Even Lighting the Stove"-- on the subject that you may read here and so did Tania Pryputniewicz in her " Sylvia III ," from her November Butterfly collection. Amelia Rosselli was one of Italy's best women poets. I have always admired her craft in writing her lines in either Italian, English or French. Her mother was English and her father, Carlo Rosselli, was a famous...