“Stand By Me” in Persian and English May 31, 2020 iran I was going through my old posts and I found this video from back in 2009, when demonstrations in response to Iran’s contested elections had the Craft Talk 2: Packing Lines with Sound & Meaning - Rosa Alice Branco, translated by Alexis Levitin May 29, 2020 poetry It’s hard to write about craft when you’re talking about a translation, especially if you can’t read the original, because it’s not always possible from “The Necessity to Speak,” by Sam Hamill May 26, 2020 poetry & quotes “The true poet gives up the self. The I of my poem is not me. It is the first person impersonal, it is permission for you to enter the experience Craft Talk 1: Quincy Troupe’s Rhythm May 16, 2020 poetry I’ve been reading The Architecture of Language, by Quincy Troupe, and I have been fascinated by how rhythm and syntax interact in the way he builds Reading Mark Nowak’s “Social Poetics:” Thinking About The First Tuesdays Cento and A ‘Flipped Script’ Poetry Reading May 13, 2020 poetry I’m just a single chapter into Mark Nowak’s Social Poetics—the chapter is called “A People’s History of the Poetry Workshop: Watts, New York City, My Year Long Writing Project May 8, 2020 poetry So. Thinking it would help prod me to start blogging regularly again—and, specifically, to start blogging about all things poetry and writing—I Prepping For Fall 2018: The Poetry Workshop Aug 10, 2018 poetry This is from an essay called “Here Today,” in Hayden Carruth’s Effluences from the Sacred Caves. In my early years as a poet, I learned more about Rachelle Escamilla’s Interview with Me On “Out of Our Minds” on KKUP Cupertino | San Jose Jan 26, 2018 my work & audio Rachelle Escamilla · Richard Jeffrey Newman on KKUP I had the pleasure last week of spending an hour talking with Rachelle Escamilla, who Anatomy of a Book Cover Jul 28, 2017 my work Not too long ago, I received from my publisher, Guernica Editions, the final proof of the cover of my new book of poems, Words For What Those Men Compulsory Heterosexuality at Work Jul 7, 2017 feminism It’s been a long time since I’ve read Adrienne Rich’s essay, “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence,” but I’ve been thinking about it a The Taint Those Questions Leave Behind: Remembering Sixth Grade Jun 30, 2017 men & sexual violence I loved my sixth grade teacher. Since he’s dead now and can’t speak for himself, and since what I am about to write deals with events from more than I Miss The Muppets! Jun 13, 2017 for fun I Know I’ve Had Orgasms That Changed Me Jun 6, 2017 sex A friend of mine who does not like jazz—especially anything that has a saxophone in it—told me once about a conversation she and her ex-husband, a A Great Video on Racism by Maz Jobrani May 31, 2017 race Concerto for Two Men, by Ella Ben-Aharon May 30, 2017 men I’ve Been Thinking About Sex May 26, 2017 sex I am trying to remember the first time I understood, really understood, that sex was nothing but touch, that I wanted the sex I had to be about I Just Learned About the Equal Justice Initiative - If You Don’t Know About It, You Should May 19, 2017 race & jewish In “The Lines That Antisemitism and Racism Draw,” a series of letters I composed to Jonathan Penton, editor of Unlikely Stories, that he published An Excellent Anti-Rape Ad from Scotland May 16, 2017 sexual violence & feminism A Poem of Mine About Jackson Heights was Broadcast on WNYC! May 1, 2017 my work & poetry In honor of National Poetry Month, WNYC challenged listeners to write tweet-length, original poems about the five boroughs. It makes me happy that What I Tell My Creative Writing Students on The First Day of Class Apr 7, 2017 teaching “The first duty of the writer is the rectification of names—to name things properly, for, as Kung-fu Tze [Confucius] said, ’All wisdom is rooted in