Podcast appearances and mentions of james merrill

Episode No. 706 features curators Leslie King-Hammond and Edward Saywell, and curator Jared Ledesma. Along with Patrick Murphy and Jennifer Farrell, Hammond and Saywell are the co-curators of "Witnessing Humanity: The Art of John Wilson" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The exhibition surveys Wilson's 60-year career, spotlighting the ways in which Wilson addressed anti-Black violence, the civil rights movement, labor, family life, and more. "Wilson" is on view in Boston through June 22 before traveling to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York in the fall. The richly illustrated exhibition catalogue was published by the MFA. It is available from Amazon and Bookshop for about $50. Ledesma is the curator of "Grace Hartigan: The Gift of Attention" at the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh. The exhibition is a focused examination of how Hartigan's relationships with New York poets, including Barbara Guest, James Merrill, and Frank O'Hara, influenced her paintings and works on paper. It is on view through August 10, 2025 before traveling to the Portland (Me.) Museum of Art and the Sheldon Museum of Art, University of Nebraska, Lincoln. An excellent catalogue was published by the museum. Amazon and Bookshop offer it for around $35. Instagram: Jared Ledesma, Tyler Green.

The queens boil down the essence of some favorite poems and poets in this game that decides what poetry is *really* about.Please Support Breaking Form!Review the show on Apple Podcasts here.Aaron's STOP LYING is available from the Pitt Poetry Series.James's ROMANTIC COMEDY is available from Four Way Books.NOTES:Read the NY Times review of Michael Schmidt's The Lives of the PoetsListen to James Merrill read his poem "For Proust" and while we're on the subject, here's a madeleine recipe. For an examination of Bishop's sensible sensibility, go here. Watch Anne Carson read from Nox (~24 min).Here is a Galway Kinnell tribute reading from May 2015 which included Marie Howe and Sharon Olds (among others).Watch Dorianne Laux read "Trying to Raise the Dead" published in her book SmokeIn a New Yorker profile interview, Natasha Trethewey discusses Native Guard, and says that we have to remember "the nearly two hundred thousand African American soldiers who fought in the Civil War, who fought for their own freedom, who fought to preserve the Union rather than destroy the Union, to whom there are very few monuments erected. Just think how different the landscape of the South would be, and how differently we would learn about our Southern history, our shared American history, if we had monuments to those soldiers who won the war—who didn't lose the war but won the war to save the Union. Those are the monuments we need to have." Read the whole conversation and profile here.Here's a BBC4 adaptation of Browning's The Ring and the Book (~1 hour)Go here for more about George Meredith's sonnet sequence Modern Love.If you were looking for a free audio full-text version of Tennyson's In Memoriam read by Elizabeth Klatt, today's your lucky day. (~2.5 hours).

Today's selection is an ideal poem for Advent–a bittersweet shape poem that expresses the “hopes and fears of all the years.”Poet and critic John Hollander wrote of Merrill that he “was continually reengaging those Proustian themes of the retrieval of lost childhood, the operations of involuntary memory and of an imaginative memory even more mysterious.” Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe

Today's poem is a shape poem dedicated to chefs, but (surprise?) it might be about more than cooking.John Hollander, one of contemporary poetry's foremost poets, editors, and anthologists, grew up in New York City. He studied at Columbia University and Indiana University, and he was a Junior Fellow of the Society of Fellows of Harvard University. Hollander received numerous awards and fellowships, including the Levinson Prize, a MacArthur Foundation grant, and the poet laureateship of Connecticut. He served as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, and he taught at Hunter College, Connecticut College, and Yale University, where he was the Sterling Professor emeritus of English.Over the course of an astonishing career, Hollander influenced generations of poets and thinkers with his critical work, his anthologies and his poetry. In the words of J.D. McClatchy, Hollander was “a formidable presence in American literary life.” Hollander's eminence as a scholar and critic was in some ways greater than his reputation as a poet. His groundbreaking introduction to form and prosody Rhyme's Reason (1981), as well as his work as an anthologist, has ensured him a place as one of the 20th-century's great, original literary critics. Hollander's critical writing is known for its extreme erudition and graceful touch. Hollander's poetry possesses many of the same qualities, though the wide range of allusion and technical virtuosity can make it seem “difficult” to a general readership.Hollander's first poetry collection, A Crackling of Thorns (1958) won the prestigious Yale Series of Younger Poets Awards, judged by W.H. Auden. And in fact James K. Robinson in the Southern Review found that Hollander's “early poetry resembles Auden's in its wit, its learned allusiveness, its prosodic mastery.” Hollander's technique continued to develop through later books like Visions from the Ramble (1965) and The Night Mirror (1971). Broader in range and scope than his previous work, Hollander's Tales Told of the Fathers (1975) and Spectral Emanations (1978) heralded his arrival as a major force in contemporary poetry. Reviewing Spectral Emanations for the New Republic, Harold Bloom reflected on his changing impressions of the poet's work over the first 20 years of his career: “I read [A Crackling of Thorns] … soon after I first met the poet, and was rather more impressed by the man than by the book. It has taken 20 years for the emotional complexity, spiritual anguish, and intellectual and moral power of the man to become the book. The enormous mastery of verse was there from the start, and is there still … But there seemed almost always to be more knowledge and insight within Hollander than the verse could accommodate.” Bloom found in Spectral Emanations “another poet as vital and accomplished as [A.R.] Ammons, [James] Merrill, [W.S.] Merwin, [John] Ashbery, James Wright, an immense augmentation to what is clearly a group of major poets.”Shortly after Spectral Emanations, Hollander published Blue Wine and Other Poems (1979), a volume which a number of critics have identified as an important milestone in Hollander's life and career. Reviewing the work for the New Leader, Phoebe Pettingell remarked, “I would guess from the evidence of Blue Wine that John Hollander is now at the crossroads of his own midlife journey, picking out a new direction to follow.” Hollander's new direction proved to be incredibly fruitful: his next books were unqualified successes. Powers of Thirteen (1983) won the Bollingen Prize from Yale University and In Time and Place (1986) was highly praised for its blend of verse and prose. In the Times Literary Supplement, Jay Parini believed “an elegiac tone dominates this book, which begins with a sequence of 34 poems in the In Memoriam stanza. These interconnecting lyrics are exquisite and moving, superior to almost anything else Hollander has ever written.” Parini described the book as “a landmark in contemporary poetry.” McClatchy held up In Time and Place as evidence that Hollander is “part conjurer and part philosopher, one of our language's true mythographers and one of its very best poets.”Hollander continued to publish challenging, technically stunning verse throughout the 1980s and '90s. His Selected Poetry (1993) was released simultaneously with Tesserae (1993); Figurehead and Other Poems (1999) came a few years later. “The work collected in [Tesserae and Other Poems and Selected Poetry] makes clear that John Hollander is a considerable poet,” New Republic reviewer Vernon Shetley remarked, “but it may leave readers wondering still, thirty-five years after his first book … exactly what kind of poet Hollander is.” Shetley recognized the sheer variety of Hollander's work, but also noted the peculiar absence of anything like a personality, “as if the poet had taken to heart, much more fully than its author, Eliot's dictum that poetry should embody ‘emotion which has its life in the poem and not in the history of the poet.'” Another frequent charge leveled against Hollander's work is that it is “philosophical verse.” Reviewing A Draft of Light (2008) for Jacket Magazine, Alex Lewis argued that instead of writing “philosophizing verse,” Hollander actually “borrows from philosophy a language and a way of thought. Hollander's poems are frequently meta-poems that create further meaning out of their own self-interrogations, out of their own reflexivity.” As always, the poems are underpinned by an enormous amount of learning and incredible technical expertise and require “a good deal of time and thought to unravel,” Lewis admitted. But the rewards are great: “the book deepens every time that I read it,” Lewis wrote, adding that Hollander's later years have given his work grandeur akin to Thomas Hardy and Wallace Stevens.Hollander's work as a critic and anthologist has been widely praised from the start. As editor, he has worked on volumes of poets as diverse as Ben Jonson and Dante Gabriel Rossetti; his anthologist's credentials are impeccable. He was widely praised for the expansive American Poetry: The Nineteenth Century (1994), two volumes of verse including ballads, sonnets, epic poetry, and even folk songs. Herbert Mitgang of the New York Times praised the range of poets and authors included in the anthology: “Mr. Hollander has a large vision at work in these highly original volumes of verse. Without passing critical judgment, he allows the reader to savor not only the geniuses but also the second-rank writers of the era.” Hollander also worked on the companion volume, American Poetry: The Twentieth Century (2000) with fellow poets and scholars Robert Hass, Carolyn Kizer, Nathaniel Mackey, and Marjorie Perloff.Hollander's prose and criticism has been read and absorbed by generations of readers and writers. Perhaps his most lasting work is Rhyme's Reason. In an interview with Paul Devlin of St. John's University, Hollander described the impetus behind the volume: “Thinking of my own students, and of how there was no such guide to the varieties of verse in English to which I could send them and that would help teach them to notice things about the examples presented—to see how the particular stanza or rhythmic scheme or whatever was being used by the particular words of the particular poem, for example—I got to work and with a speed which now alarms me produced a manuscript for the first edition of the book. I've never had more immediate fun writing a book.” Hollander's other works of criticism include The Work of Poetry (1993), The Poetry of Everyday Life (1997), and Poetry and Music (2003).Hollander died on August 17, 2013 in Branford, Connecticut.-bio via Poetry Foundation Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe

A special Monday interview episode for y'all! So pleased to finally record with James Merrill after meeting him a couple of times in person. Hope everyone enjoy this candid conversation about his art and the craziness of the web3 world. In this episode we discuss: James' background in art and coding, and how he got into NFTs What James loves about Fidenza Getting into plotter work and being included in Feral Files Graph+ exhibition in 2021 What is so cool about plotters anyways? James' upcoming project, 'Busy'... and how does this even work with code? 1A diversion into pens, inks, Schwittlick and KenConsumer Art vs. Craft and (not) drawing a line in the sand for generative artists Unionizing artists! Some hot takes on AI art Recent changes to Art Blocks and the potential for releasing on Studio vs other open platforms Rapid Fire Follow James on Twitter @toThePixel and find out more about him and his work here Follow us on Twitter @waitingtosign, on Farcaster @wtbs and on Instagram @waitingtobesigned If you like the show and want to support us you can subscribe to our Patreon and donate directly to wtbs.tez & wtbs.eth Episode art: most of a 'Busy' by James Merril Intro & Outro tracks by PixelWank

The great-grandchild of eight Irish immigrants, poet Julie Kane was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She grew up in Massachusetts, upstate New York, and New Jersey, graduating from Cornell University with a B.A. in English and winning first prize in the Mademoiselle Magazine College Poetry Competition, judged by Anne Sexton and James Merrill. That led her to graduate school in creative writing at Boston University, where she was one of Sexton's students at the time of her death. Since 1999 she has lived in Natchitoches, where she is Professor of English Emeritus at Northwestern State University and winner of the Excellence in Teaching Award, Mildred Hart Bailey Faculty Research Award, and Dr. Jean D'Amato-Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award. During 2002 she was a Fulbright Scholar to Lithuania, teaching at Vilnius Pedagogical University. She won the National Poetry Series, judged by Maxine Kumin, in 2002 and the Donald Justice Poetry Prize, judged by David Mason, in 2009. From 2011-2013 she served as the Louisiana Poet Laureate. In 2018 she joined the poetry faculty of the Western Colorado University low-residency MFA program. Find more on Julie and her books here: https://www.juliekanepoet.com/ As always, we'll also include the live Prompt Lines for responses to our weekly prompt. A Zoom link will be provided in the chat window during the show before that segment begins. For links to all the past episodes, visit: https://www.rattle.com/rattlecast/ This Week's Prompt: Find a partner and write a collaborative poem in some kind of form. Next Week's Prompt: Write a poem using a regular meter of some kind that references your ancestral home. The Rattlecast livestreams on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, then becomes an audio podcast. Find it on iTunes, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

"A master of forms, Merrill's later poetry rarely feels formal. In the Atlantic Monthly, poet X.J. Kennedy observed that “Merrill never sprawls, never flails about, never strikes postures. Intuitively he knows that, as Yeats once pointed out, in poetry, ‘all that is personal soon rots; it must be packed in ice or salt.'”-via Poetry Foundation Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe

Seriah is joined by Barbara Fisher and Wren Collier for some fascinating discussion. Topics include liminality, empty shopping malls, the UAP disclosure movement, the Grusch hearings, Peter Levenda, the “Aviary”, the Collins Elite, the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis vs aliens as spirits, fundamentalist Christian eschatology, Dominionism, the danger of future religious persecution, the book “Final Events” by Nick Redfern, Reverend Ray Boeche, USAF Captain Robert Collins, Dan T. Smith AKA “Chicken Little”, Los Alamos, U.S. government remote viewing programs, indoctrination of the military, Christian nationalism, Robert Manners, Project Blue Beam, mass deception, end-time prophecies and the return of Christ, Whitley Strieber and the Djinn, John Keel as demonologist, personal experiences with the occult, the Michael Douglas film “Falling Down”, psy research and weather, Michael “Doc Future” Bennett, ritual magic experiments by the CIA, Jack Parsons, L. Ron Hubbard, Kenneth Grant, the Trinity atomic bomb test, James Merrill's “The Changing Light at Sandover” book, William H. Burroughs, the spiritual dangers of nuclear weapons and energy, nuclear war on ancient Mars, Jacques Vallee's “Passport to Magonia”, ether ships, outer space as the land of the dead, nuclear testing, cattle mutilations, a wave of killing of pets, the David McGowan book “Programmed to Kill”, a kernel of truth to the Satanic panic, hypnotic regression and false memories, Henry Lee Lucas and the Hand of Death cult, Wayne Williams and the Atlanta child murders and a CIA-related training facility, serial killers and self-deception, the West Memphis Three, the psychological benefits of harsh music, the Columbine mass shooting and unanswered questions, the Oklahoma City bombing and “John Doe #2” and other mysteries, Ozzy Osbourne's “Suicide Solution” and it's mis-interpretation, films that could not be made today, the Julie Saunder's podcast “Believer”, Jaime Maussan's repeated fake aliens in Mexico, pro wrestling, the 1990's alien autopsy video, Roswell as experiments on disabled children, Stephen Chow's “Forbidden City Cop” movie, crypto currency, the screaming alien hoax, Joseph Matheny and John Titor, ARGs, the Djinn and smokeless fire, Islamic lore, Airial spirits, Hal Puthoff, a bizarre Djinn/MIB experience in 1970's Iran, and much more! This is riveting material!KeThis show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4656375/advertisement

James Merrill worked for a decade as a contractor for the United States Agency for International Development and through that work, saw how single-use plastic led to the degradation of natural resources and impacted low-income communities. So, he founded Opolis - a truly sustainable line of sunglasses. They're making sunglasses out of plant-based and recycled plastics.    In this episode, Cole and James chat about:   - what it takes for a consumer to actually CARE about a brand - if companies still need a strong why to succeed in today's environment - what types of stories can "break the paradigm" - the links between what we consume and people impacted around the globe   You can learn more about Opolis here: https://opolisoptics.com/    Or here on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/opolis_optics/    This podcast is brought to you by Port Side Productions. If you work at a brand or agency in the outdoor industry that needs help bringing a video project to life, head over to portsidepro.com and send us an email. We'd love to help!  

Lauren Bycroft Talks Scavengers Reign At NYCC With James Merrill and Benjy Brooke at NYCC For Skewed and Reviewed

Presenting episode 111 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast! In this episode we welcome Charles Huettner, Sean Buckelew and Benjy Brooke of Green Street Pictures, whose new series 'Scavengers Reign' will kick off this month on Max. In 'Scavengers Reign', the brainchild of visionary creators Joe Bennett and Charles Huettner, the remaining crew of a damaged interstellar freighter ship find themselves stranded on a beautiful yet unforgiving alien planet – where they must survive long enough to escape or be rescued. But as the survivors struggle to locate their downed ship and missing crewmates, their new home reveals a hostile world allowed to thrive without human interference. Featuring lush, visually stunning animation, 'Scavengers Reign' presents a wholly unique view of the consequences of unchecked hubris and humanity's eternal desire to conquer the unknown. Cast includes Wunmi Mosaku (Azi), Bob Stephenson (Sam), Sunita Mani (Ursula), Ted Travelstead (Kamen) and Alia Shawkat (Levi). The show is executive produced by Chris Prynoski, Antonio Canobbio, Shannon Prynoski, and Ben Kalina from Titmouse, Joe Bennett, Charles Huettner, as well as co-executive producers Sean Buckelew and James Merrill and Supervising Director Benjy Brooke from Green Street Pictures. Also discussed: Upcoming MAF highlights, 'Chicken Run' and 'Rick & Morty' recasts, mutual 'Mutant Mayhem' enthusiasm, the evolution of Bristol Animation Meetup and the worrying dearth of animation at this year's Encounters Film Festival Presented by Ben Mitchell and Steve Henderson Interview conducted by Ben Mitchell Edited, produced and music by Ben Mitchell

Seriah is joined by Barbara Fisher and Wren Collier for some fascinating discussion. Topics include liminality, empty shopping malls, the UAP disclosure movement, the Grusch hearings, Peter Levenda, the “Aviary”, the Collins Elite, the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis vs aliens as spirits, fundamentalist Christian eschatology, Dominionism, the danger of future religious persecution, the book “Final Events” by Nick Redfern, Reverend Ray Boeche, USAF Captain Robert Collins, Dan T. Smith AKA “Chicken Little”, Los Alamos, U.S. government remote viewing programs, indoctrination of the military, Christian nationalism, Robert Manners, Project Blue Beam, mass deception, end-time prophecies and the return of Christ, Whitley Strieber and the Djinn, John Keel as demonologist, personal experiences with the occult, the Michael Douglas film “Falling Down”, psy research and weather, Michael “Doc Future” Bennett, ritual magic experiments by the CIA, Jack Parsons, L. Ron Hubbard, Kenneth Grant, the Trinity atomic bomb test, James Merrill's “The Changing Light at Sandover” book, William H. Burroughs, the spiritual dangers of nuclear weapons and energy, nuclear war on ancient Mars, Jacques Vallee's “Passport to Magonia”, ether ships, outer space as the land of the dead, nuclear testing, cattle mutilations, a wave of killing of pets, the David McGowan book “Programmed to Kill”, a kernel of truth to the Satanic panic, hypnotic regression and false memories, Henry Lee Lucas and the Hand of Death cult, Wayne Williams and the Atlanta child murders and a CIA-related training facility, serial killers and self-deception, the West Memphis Three, the psychological benefits of harsh music, the Columbine mass shooting and unanswered questions, the Oklahoma City bombing and “John Doe #2” and other mysteries, Ozzy Osbourne's “Suicide Solution” and it's mis-interpretation, films that could not be made today, the Julie Saunder's podcast “Believer”, Jaime Maussan's repeated fake aliens in Mexico, pro wrestling, the 1990's alien autopsy video, Roswell as experiments on disabled children, Stephen Chow's “Forbidden City Cop” movie, crypto currency, the screaming alien hoax, Joseph Matheny and John Titor, ARGs, the Djinn and smokeless fire, Islamic lore, Airial spirits, Hal Puthoff, a bizarre Djinn/MIB experience in 1970's Iran, and much more! This is riveting material! - Recap by Vincent Treewell of The Weird Part Podcast Outro Music is Psyche Corporation with Pound of Flesh Download

Armen Davoudian reads a poem by James Merrill and "The Yellow Swan" from Armen's chapbook Swan Song (Bull City Press, 2020), originally published in Literary Matters, 11.3.  Queer Poem-a-Day Lineage Edition is our new format for year three! Featuring contemporary LGBTQIA+ poets reading a poem by an LGBTQIA+ writer of the past, followed by an original poem of their own.  Armen Davoudian is the author of The Palace of Forty Pillars, forthcoming from Tin House Books in in Winter 2024. His poems and translations from Persian appear in Poetry magazine, the Hopkins Review, the Yale Review, and elsewhere. His chapbook, Swan Song, won the 2020 Frost Place Competition. Armen grew up in Isfahan, Iran, and is a PhD candidate in English at Stanford University. Text of today's original poem and more details about our program can be found at: deerfieldlibrary.org/queerpoemaday/ Queer Poem-a-Day is a program from the Adult Services Department at the Library and may include adult language.  Find books from participating poets in our library's catalog.  Queer Poem-a-Day is directed by poet and teacher Lisa Hiton and Dylan Zavagno, Adult Services Coordinator at the Deerfield Public Library. Music for this third year of our series is AIDS Ward Scherzo by Robert Savage, performed by pianist Daniel Baer. Queer Poem-a-Day is supported by generous donations from the Friends of the Deerfield Public Library and the Deerfield Fine Arts Commission. 

Episode Reading List:* From Queer to Gay to Queer, James Kirchick* How Hannah Arendt's Zionism Helped Create American Gay Identity, Blake Smith* When the Pope Hits Your Eye Like a Big Pizza Pie, That's Ahmari, James Kirchick* Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick's Big Fat Nonbinary Mistake, Blake Smith* Are Conservatives the New Queers?, Blake Smith* Wesley Yang, The Souls of Yellow Folk, John PistelliI have a working hypothesis that no one has suffered a more dramatic decline in a certain kind of social status, as a result of changes in left-liberal elite culture and politics, than white gay men. Less than a decade ago they were at the vanguard of social progress, having led a gay rights movement that achieved an extraordinary series of legal, political, and cultural victories. Now they're perceived as basically indistinguishable, within certain left-liberal spaces, from straight white men. In some activist circles they may be even more suspect, since they're competing for leadership roles and narrative centrality where straight men wouldn't presume (or particularly desire) to tread. My hypothesis, if it's accurate, is interesting on its own terms, as part of a much longer history in America of ethnic and other minority groups rising and falling in relative cultural, intellectual, and literary status. It's also interesting, however, for what it tells us about the recent evolution of left and liberal politics, as they've shifted and reshaped themselves in reaction to both great victories, like the legalization of gay marriage, and to depressingly intractable problems like the persistent racial gaps in wealth, health, incarceration, and crime.I'm less interested in the justice or injustice of this shift in standing (though I'm somewhat interested) than I am in the facts of it and its implications. Why has it happened? What does it feel like for the people who have experienced it? What are its implications? Will there be a backlash? To assist me in thinking through what it all means, I invited to the podcast Blake Smith and Jamie Kirchick. Jamie is a columnist for Tablet magazine, a writer at large for Air Mail, and the author of last year's New York Times bestseller, Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington. He has long been an outspoken critic of some sectors of the gay left and what he perceives of as their desire to subordinate the project of achieving full civic and political equality for gay people to a more radical, revolutionary project to tear down conventional bourgeois ideas of gender, sexuality, marriage, family, monogamy, and identity. In a recent essay in Liberties, “From Queer to Gay to Queer,” Jamie compares the liberal tenets of the gay rights movement to the radical aspirations of what he calls “political queerness”: With its insistence that gay people adhere to a very narrow set of political and identitarian commitments, to a particular definition that delegitimates everything outside of itself, political queerness is deeply illiberal. This is in stark opposition to the spirit of the mainstream gay rights movement, which was liberal in every sense — philosophically, temperamentally, and procedurally. It achieved its liberal aspirations (securing equality) by striving for liberal aims (access to marriage and the military) via liberal means (at the ballot box, through the courts, and in the public square). Appealing to liberal values, it accomplished an incredible revolution in human consciousness, radically transforming how Americans viewed a once despised minority. And it did so animated by the liberal belief that inclusion does not require the erasure of one's own particular identity, or even the tempering of it. By design, the gay movement was capacious, and made room for queers in its vision of an America where sexual orientation was no longer a barrier to equal citizenship. Queerness, alas, has no room for gays. The victory of the gay movement and its usurpation by the queer one represents an ominous succession. The gay movement sought to reform laws and attitudes so that they would align with America's founding liberal principles; the queer movement posits that such principles are intrinsically oppressive and therefore deserving of denigration. The gay movement was grounded in objective fact; the queer movement is rooted in Gnostic postmodernism. For the gay movement, homosexuality was something to be treated as any other benign human trait, whereas the queer movement imbues same-sex desire and gender nonconformity with a revolutionary socio-political valence. (Not for the first time, revolution is deemed more important than rights.) And whereas the gay movement strived for mainstream acceptance of gay people, the queer movement finds the very concept of a mainstream malevolent, a form of “structural violence.” Illiberal in its tactics, antinomian in its ideology, scornful of ordinary people and how they choose to live, and glorifying marginalization, queerness is a betrayal of the gay movement, and of gay people themselves. In the podcast I refer to Jamie as “a man alone.” This isn't quite true. He has comrades out there, in particular older gay writers like Andrew Sullivan and Jonathan Rauch, who share many of his commitments and critiques. Generationally, however, Jamie seems more alone than they do, without a cohort of gay intellectuals of roughly his age who share his intellectual reference points, his liberalism, and his very specific experience of coming of age as a gay man and journalist in America when he did, at his specific point of entry to AIDS, the decline of print and rise of online journalism, and the political advance of gay (and more recently trans) rights. He's a man alone but also, if the premise of this podcast is accurate, a man alone who has been publicly articulating a set of feelings and arguments that is shared by many of his gay male peers, of various generations, but hasn't yet taken shape in the form of a political or intellectual reaction.Blake Smith is my first return guest to the podcast, having recently joined me to discuss Pulitzer Prize-winning essayist and critic Andrea Long Chu (the “it girl of the trans world,” as I called her). He is a recent refugee from academia, now living and working as a freelance writer in Chicago, writing for Tablet magazine, American Affairs, and elsewhere. At 35 he is only a few years younger than Jamie, but is the product of a very different set of formative biographical and intellectual influences. Raised in a conservative Southern Baptist family in a suburb of Memphis, Blake's big coming out, as he tells the story, was less as a gay man than as the kind of academically credentialed, world-traveling, city-based sophisticate he has become. If Jamie's sense of loss is maybe something in the vicinity of what I proposed at the top of this post–that he went from being in the ultimately victorious mainstream of the gay rights struggle to being seen as a member of the privileged oppressor class, at best a second-class “ally” and at worst an apostate to the cause –than Blake's experience is less about any personal or political loss of status or standing than it is a variant of the venerable intellectual and literary tradition of pining for a scene or scenes from eras prior to your own. Think Owen Wilson's character in Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, who was magically transported back to Paris in the 1920s, the scene he'd always romanticized, only to fall in love with a woman from that era who herself romanticizes and eventually chooses to abandon him for another, earlier cultural moment, the Belle Époque scene of the 1890s. For Blake, the key era, maybe, was the brief post-Stonewall period before AIDS superseded all other concerns––so the 1970s, more or less– when gay male life was sufficiently out of the closet for a gay male public to come into existence and begin to define itself and understand how it related, or didn't relate, not just to the straight world but also to feminism, women, Marxism, black civil rights, and other left-wing and liberal movements. In a recent piece in Tablet, Blake writes about the magazine Christopher Street, founded in 1976, and its project of helping to bring into existence a coherent intellectual and cultural community of gay men:In its cultural politics of building a gay male world, Christopher Street featured poetry and short stories, helping launch the careers of the major gay writers of the late 20th century, such as Edmund White, Andrew Holleran, and Larry Kramer. It also ran many essays that contributed to an emerging awareness that there was a gay male canon in American letters, running from Walt Whitman and Hart Crane to John Ashbery and James Merrill.Christopher Street was by no means the only venue for the construction of a gay world, but [editor Michael] Denneny and his colleagues were perhaps the sharpest-minded defenders of its specificity—their demand that it be a world for gay men. In a debate that has now been largely forgotten, but which dominated gay intellectual life in the 1970s, Denneny's Arendtian perspective, with its debts to Zionism, was ranged against a vision of politics in which gay men were to be a kind of shock force for a broader sexual-cum-socialist revolution.For Blake, what's been lost or trumped is less the liberal politics that Jamie champions and that Christopher Street more or less advocated than the existence of a gay male world of letters that had fairly distinct boundaries, a relatively private space in which gay men–who may always remain in some way politically suspect, even reviled, by the mainstream–can recognize and talk to each other.  As he writes in another recent essay in Tablet, maybe half-seriously, “One should, …know one's own type (Jew, homosexual, philosopher, etc.) and remain at a ‘playful distance' from those outside it, with ‘no expectation of essential progress' toward a world in which the sort of people we are can be publicly recognized and respected. No messiahs, and no end to paranoias and persecutions—but, in the shade of deft silences, the possibility of cleareyed fellowship with one's own kind.”Jamie, Blake, and I had what I found to be a really exciting conversation about all these issues and more. Give it a listen.Eminent Americans is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Eminent Americans at danieloppenheimer.substack.com/subscribe

Wine flows through this Verb - through poems, toasts, rituals - as Ian McMillan explores the images and words that evoke what it means to drink and to be drunk, in all its complexity. Poet Ramona Herdman describes the first drink of the evening; "Peter Pan at the window, laughing, reaching his hand in" in a poem from her collection 'Glut' ( Nine Arches). Fellow poet and editor Jane Commane reads a new commission for the anthology 'Ten Poems about Wine' ( Candlestick Press) and interrogates a poem called 'Charles on Fire' by American poet James Merrill. Angie Hobbs (Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield) also joins us to explore Ancient Greek approaches to drinking, and award-winning wine critic Aleesha Hansel expands the lexicon of wine tasting, as well as considering the place of libations in culture.

The queens get quick (and dirty), summarizing a poet's oeuvre in one sentence.If you'd like to support Breaking Form, please consider buying Aaron's and James's  books (both 2023):Aaron's STOP LYING is available from the Pitt Poetry Series. James's ROMANTIC COMEDY is available from Four Way Books.When James says that Aaron makes a "Stuck the Landing" flourish, he means the kind of gesture made over and over in this montage of gymnasts sticking the landing!Watch an Elizabeth Bishop documentary here (including interviews with  Bidart,  Strand, Howard Moss, Mary McCarthy, and James Merrill). ~56 min.Watch John Ashbery accept, in delightfully odd fashion, a lifetime achievement award at the 2011 National Book Award here. (~10 min).Here's a 40-min documentary on Robert Frost that's worth watching. Watch this interview with Gwendolyn Brooks (~30 min), courtesy of Maryland's Howard County Poetry and Literature Society (HoCoPoLitSo).Listen to this ~2min recording of Jorie Graham reading her poem "Why" from To 2040 (Copper Canyon Press) here.Watch James Merrill read Bishop's "One Art" and his own "Developers at Crystal River" at the San Francisco Poetry Center in 1980. (~5 min)Watch this interview with Stanley Kunitz, on the occasion of his becoming  Poet Laureate (~20 min).Read Anthony Hecht's poem "More Light! More Light!" which deals centrally with Nazi executions in the Holocaust, or listen to him read the poem (3.5 min) here. We mention two articles about Cummings's anti-Semitism. The review of Susan Cheever's biography is here. The article Aaron mentions is available through J-Stor here. The article (and lost poem) that The Awl published about Cummings can be read here. Eloise Klein Healy's most recent book is A Brilliant Loss, published in 2022 by Red Hen Press and available here. She is the author of 10 books of poetry. Check out her website: https://www.eloisekleinhealy.com. You can read the poem that Celeste Gainey recites on the show, "Asking About You," here. Celese Gainey is the author of The Gaffer, published by Arktoi Books, an imprint of Red Hen Press. You can read more about her and her poetry on her website here.In 1974, Gainey was the first woman to be admitted as a gaffer to the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (I.A.T.S.E.). In addition to lighting dozens of documentaries, she worked for such programs as 60 Minutes, ABC Close-Up, and 20/20, as well as on feature films like Dog Day Afternoon, Taxi Driver, and The Wiz.

In this episode, Belle chats with the founder of Opolis Optics, James Merrill. Opolis is an eyewear brand that originated in Maine, and is now based in Venice Beach, CA. Their mission focuses on reducing ocean and landfill-based plastic, and turning it into high-quality products, which, in-turn, supports the communities most impacted by plastic pollution. In this episode, you'll learn about the impact of plastic pollution, the ins and outs of manufacturing with rPET, or recycled plastic, the challenges of raising capital and finding investors for your business, how covid impacted smaller brands, and so much more! Opolis Optics Website https://opolisoptics.com/ Discount Code for Listeners: Don't forget to use code, "FOF20" for 20% off your order! FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM Opolis ⁠@opolis_optics James @jamesmrrll Belle ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@bellebarreiroseiden⁠⁠ Flavor of Fashion ⁠⁠⁠@flavoroffashionpodcast ⁠⁠ FOLLOW ON TIKTOK, TWITTER & FACEBOOK TikTok @opolis.optics Twitter @Opolis4 Facebook @Opolisoptics (view the World Recycling Day Surfrider Clean-Up Recap on Facebook) MENTIONED IN EPISODE Girlfriend Collective Washing Machine Attachment (Microfiber Filter) https://girlfriend.com/products/water-filter STOKEDPLASTIC™️ https://opolisoptics.com/pages/stoked-plastic StokedPlastic® Ski/Snowboard Goggles https://opolisoptics.com/pages/pre-order Let My People Go Surfing book by Yvon Chouinard https://www.patagonia.com/product/let-my-people-go-surfing-revised-paperback-book/889833674516.html? Trade Shows - Surf Expo & Outdoor Retailer https://surfexpo.com/ https://outdoorretailer.com/ Outdoor Retailer Innovation Award Article https://thedaily.outdoorretailer.com/news/brands-and-retailers/opolis-optics-turns-plastic-bottles-into-goggles/ Maine Outdoor Brands Association https://maineoutdoorbrands.com/ Hansen's Surfboards in Encinitas https://www.hansensurf.com/ L.L. Bean https://www.llbean.com/ Sea Bags https://seabags.com/ Faro x Opolis Surfboard Bags https://faroboardbags.com/ SurfRider https://www.surfrider.org/ Cake https://ridecake.com/en-US JAMES'S RECOMMENDATIONS LA SPOTS (Venice) The Butcher's Daughter | @thebutchersdaughter_official Blue Bottle Coffee | @bluebottle Great White | @greatwhite MAINE SPOTS (Kennybunkport) The Clam Shack @theclamshack The Wharf | (general area, lots of restaurants) Federal Jacks | @federaljacks --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/flavor-of-fashion-podcast/support

In this episode, we sit down with Art Blocks Curated artist James Merrill to talk all things generative art and NFTs. We begin by getting into James' background when it comes to generative art and blockchain. We discuss the history of generative art and how NFTs have furthered and advanced it. Next, we talk about how art is a representation of a culture and its times, and how generative art speaks to our time and culture. Of course, it's hard to talk the future of NFTs without talking about gaming, so we get into gamers' thoughts on NFTs and what pieces of the picture they might be missing. After that, we dive into the intersection between art and technology and what the future of generative art looks like. We end with the all to important royalties discussion, and what royalties actually mean for an artist like James to make a living. Don't sleep on this fascinating episode with an excellent artist!  Big thank you to James Merrill for taking the time out of his day to talk crypto with us. You can find him on Twitter @@toThePixel. Feel free to tweet or message me @TheRogueItachi. You can find the pod on Twitter @GoodWillYunting As always, Yunt Hard, Yunt Fast, Yunt Capital.  Disclaimer: Nothing said on this podcast is advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or tokens. We may, and often because we're passionate about the projects we bring on, hold investments in the project and even work in their communities. None of this is financial advice, please do your own research; this is a risky field. 

In this episode, we are delighted to have Richie Hofmann as our guest. Richie Hofmann is the author of two collections: Second Empire (https://www.alicejamesbooks.org/bookstore/second-empire) and A Hundred Lovers (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/689918/a-hundred-lovers-by-richie-hofmann/). His poetry has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Yale Review, and many other literary magazines, and he is the recipient of Ruth Lilly and Wallace Stegner fellowships. To learn more about Richie, visit his website (https://www.richiehofmann.com/). To learn more about Richie Hofmann's poetry and process, read Jesse Nathan's interview with Richie Hoffman in McSweeney's (https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/richie-hofmann). Richie Hofmann photo credit: Marcus Jackson

After Dinner Mints - Episode 70 - 23.01.10Interview with James MerrillOri Project Page: https://www.artblocks.io/project/379Ori website: https://ori.lostpixels.ioJames Merrill's Twitter: https://twitter.com/toThePixelArt Blocks website: http://artblocks.ioSubscribe to our weekly newsletter: https://artblocksinc.eo.page/subscribeJoin us on discord: http://discord.gg/artblocksFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/artblocks_io

Lindsay Turner joins the podcast to talk about what is perhaps my favorite love poem ever, Elizabeth Bishop's "The Shampoo." [FYI: For some reason there's a minor technical issue w/my audio quality for the first 3-4 minutes of the episode—sorry!—but, happily, it resolved quickly and doesn't affect the rest of this lovely conversation.]The ShampooThe still explosions on the rocks,the lichens, growby spreading, gray, concentric shocks.They have arrangedto meet the rings around the moon, althoughwithin our memories they have not changed.And since the heavens will attendas long on us,you've been, dear friend,precipitate and pragmatical;and look what happens. For Time isnothing if not amenable.The shooting stars in your black hairin bright formationare flocking where,so straight, so soon?—Come, let me wash it in this big tin basin,battered and shiny like the moon.Lindsay Turner is the author of Songs and Ballads (Prelude Books, 2018) and the chapbook A Fortnight (forthcoming, Doublecross Press). She's an assistant professor in the Department of English at Case Western University. Her second collection of poetry, The Upstate, is forthcoming in the University of Chicago Press's Phoenix Poets series in fall 2023. Her translations from the French include the poetry collections adagio ma non troppo, by Ryoko Sekiguchi (Les Figues Press, 2018), The Next Loves, by Stéphane Bouquet (Nightboat Books, 2019) and Common Life, by Stéphane Bouquet (Nightboat Books, 2023), as well as books of philosophy by Frederic Neyrat (Atopias, co-translated with Walt Hunter, Fordham UP, 2017), Souleymane Bachir Diagne (Postcolonial Bergson, Fordham UP, 2019), Anne Dufourmantelle (In Defense of Secrets, Fordham UP, 2020), Richard Rechtman (Living in Death, Fordham UP, 2021) and Éric Baratay (Animal Biographies, UGA Press, 2022). She is the recipient of a WPR Creative Grant from Harvard's Woodberry Poetry Room for 2016-17 as well as 2017 and 2019 French Voices Grants.During the episode, we listen to a recording of James Merrill reading Bishop's poem. The full recording can be found on the website of the Key West Literary Seminar. My thanks to Arlo Haskell from the Key West Literary Seminar and Stephen Yenser from the Literary Estate of James Merrill for permission to use the clip. (Copyright @ the Literary Estate of James Merrill at Washington University.) Please follow, rate, and review the podcast if you like what you hear, and make sure you're signed up for my newsletter to stay up to date on our plans.

Our own Very Special Christmas Episode: Langdon Hammer joins the podcast to talk about James Merrill's "Christmas Tree."Langdon Hammer is the Niel Gray, Jr. Professor of English at Yale University and the author of James Merrill: Life and Art (Knopf, 2015). With Stephen Yenser, he edited A Whole World: Letters from James Merrill (Knopf, 2021). He is also the author of Hart Crane and Allen Tate: Janus-Faced Modernism (Princeton, 1993) and the editor of Library of America editions of Crane and May Swenson. He is poetry editor at The American Scholar and a contributor to The New York Times Book Review, The New York Review of Books, The Yale Review, and The Los Angeles Review of Books. You can find a free, online version of "Modern Poetry," one of his Yale University undergraduate lecture courses, here.Please follow, rate, and review the podcast if you like what you hear, and sign up for my newsletter for more links and to stay up to date on our plans.

This is actually the second class, since we had an introductory class last week.  This is a course in the close reading of poetry.   Today's class largely on James Merrill's poem b o d y, on the limits of close reading (if any), and on "Roses are red..."   Syllabus outline, to be updated periodically:   Topics   This syllabus is done by topics.  In order to remain flexible I will update weekly with specific readings.  Right now the syllabus is aspirational, and will give you a general sense of the order of topics and the issues we'll discuss.  But if, as is likely, we don't get to everything, we'll have to decide what to spend less time on.   Th        Aug 25             Introduction, etc.                                     Handout, including:  “b o d y” (James Merrill) “Easter Wings” (George Herbert) “The Comfort” (Alice Notely) Excerpt from Don Juan (Lord Byron) “My sweet old Etcetera” (Cummings)                                     T          Aug 30             Rhyme                                     Cole Porter: “You're the top”                                     Skelton: “Tunning of Eleanor Rumming” (excerpts)                                                   “Lullay lullay like a child”                                     Auden:  “Lullaby”                                                                                        Th        Sept  1               T          Sept  6             Th        Sept  8   T          Sept 13 Th        Sept 15                                     T          Sept 20            Meter Th        Sept 22              T          Sept 27            NO CLASS     Th        Sept 29            First Paper Due                                                         T          Oct  4              Th        Oct  6                T          Oct 11             Interplay between rhyme and meter Th        Oct 13             NO CLASS (“Brandeis Monday”)                   T          Oct 18             NO CLASS (“Brandeis Monday”)     Th        Oct 20               T          Oct 25                         Th        Oct 27             Metaphor   T          Nov  1             Second Paper Due Th        Nov  3             More forms                                     T          Nov  8             Th        Nov  9                                     T          Nov 15             Revisions                                            Th        Nov 16                                                                                    T          Nov 22            Th        Nov 24             NO CLASS                   T          Nov 29            Th        Dec  1              Two extremes: free verse and hip hop   T          Dec  6              Third Paper Due

A free form conversation with car dealers about how they are thriving with fewer cars on the lot and where they are getting the cars they have. "How To Sell More Cars by Terry Lancaster, is a gem of a book, it's a quick read jam packed full of automotive marketing insight." - James Merrill, […] The post How to sell more cars when you don't have enough cars to sell appeared first on Terry Lancaster • Marketing Strategist • Copywriter • Storyteller.

A 14-letter phrase for a trivia podcast: It's a brand new episode of Go Fact Yourself!Jaret Reddick is best known as the lead singer and songwriter for the band Bowling for Soup. Between his band and the theme song for  “Phineas & Ferb,” his music has been a fixture for children -- but so has his iconic role as the voice of Chuck E. Cheese. You can hear more of Jaret's voice in his podcasts “Jaret Goes to the Movies'' and “Rockstar Dad.”Jaret's opponent is Time magazine journalist Molly Ball. She's known for her political scoops and her book about Nancy Pelosi, but Molly got involved in covering politics almost entirely by accident. Plus, she'll tell us about what it was like to win big money on the show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”Our guests will answer trivia about comedy, crosswords, scents and censorship!What's the Difference: Something Stinks!What's the difference between a scent and an odor?What's the difference between “instinctive” and “instinctual”?Areas of Expertise:Jaret: John Hughes movies, The band Mötley Crüe, and comedian George Carlin.Molly: Crossword puzzles, The life and works of the American poet James Merrill, and The 1990s Colorado Rockies baseball team.Appearing in this episode:J. Keith van StraatenHelen HongJaret ReddickMolly BallWith guest experts:Kelly Carlin, writer, performer, producer and radio host and author of the book A Carlin Home Companion,Will Shortz, founder and director of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament andPuzzle Editor of the New York Times since 1993.Go Fact Yourself was devised and produced by Jim Newman and J. Keith van Straaten, in collaboration with Maximum Fun. Theme Song by Jonathan Green.Maximum Fun's Senior Producer is Laura Swisher.Associate Producer and Editor is Julian Burrell.Vaccine-getting by YOU.

This week, we're continuing our Trailblazer episodes with Vincent Virga—author of the Gaywyck trilogy, the first m/m gothic romance, and one of the first m/m romances ending with a happily ever after. He talks about writing gay romance and about the way reading about love and happiness change readers lives. He also shares rich, wonderful stories about his vibrant life as a picture editor in publishing, about the literary set in New York City in the 70s and 80s, about writing during the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, about the times in a writer's life when the words don't come easily, and about the times when they can't be stopped. We are honored and so grateful that Vincent took the time to speak with us, and we hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did. There's still time to buy the Fated Mates Best of 2021 Book Pack from our friends at Old Town Books in Alexandria, VA, and get eight of the books on the list, a Fated Mates sticker and other swag! Order the book box as soon as you can to avoid supply chain snafus. Thank you, as always, for listening! If you are up for leaving a rating or review for the podcast on your podcasting app, we would be very grateful! Our next read-alongs will be the Tiffany Reisz Men at Work series, which is three holiday themed category romances. Read one or all of them: Her Halloween Treat, Her Naughty Holiday and One Hot December.Show NotesWelcome Vincent Virga, author of Gaywyck, the first gay gothic romance, and one of the earliest gay romances with a happily ever after. It was published by Avon in 1980. He has written several other novels, including Vadriel Vail and A Comfortable Corner. He was also the premier picture editor in the book industry. He has been with his partner, author James McCourt, author of Mawrdew Czgowchwz, for 56 years. Their collected papers are housed at the Beinecke Library at Yale University. Today is the 41st anniversary of The Ramrod Massacre in New York City, where Vernon Kroening and Jorg Wenz were killed. Six other men were shot and injured inside the bar or on the streets near the Ramrod. Author Malinda Lo and Librarian Angie Manfredi sound the warning bell about the fights that we are facing around access to books and libraries and calls for book banning happening all around the country. Here is what you can do to help support your local library. Check out Runforsomething.net for ideas about local races where you live. Want more Vincent in your life? Here is a great interview from 2019 on a blog called The Last Bohemians, and this 2011 interview on Live Journal. Daisy Buchanan cries that she's never seen such beautiful shirts in The Great Gatsby, and We Get Lettersis a song from the Perry Como show.People Vincent mentioned: Susan Sontag, Maria Callas, opera singer Victoria de los Ángeles, editor Elaine Markson, Jane Fonda, Armistead Maupin, poets John Ashbery and James Merrill, Hillary and Bill Clinton, editor Alice Mayhew, Gwen Edelman at Avon Books, Gwen Verdon and Bob Fosse, publisher Bob Wyatt, John Ehrlichman from Watergate, author Colm Tóibín, poet Mark Doty, Truman Capote, poet and translator Richard Howard, Shelley Winters, John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, and Kim Novak. The museum Vincent was a part of in County Mayo, Ireland, is The Jackie Clarke Collection.The twisty turny secret book that made him a lover of Gothics was Wilkie Collins's Woman in White. Vincent is also a lover of Samuel Richardson's Clarissa, and Henry Bellamann's King's Row.A few short pieces abaout the AIDS epidemic: the impact of the epidemic on survivors in the queer community, and how the American government ignored the crisis.

Welcome to this week's episode of The Radcast! In this week's news episode, Host Ryan Alford and Co-Host Joe Hamric recaps guest James Merrill, Opolis Optics, upcoming episodes with Brad Lea and Bruce Buffer. Talks Social Holidays World Tourism Day #WTD2021, National Scarf Day #NationalScarfDay, and more...These are the following topics we hit in today's episode:Burger King's NFT strategy matures beyond stunts toward real engagementSubway records strongest August sales in 8 years on tails of brand refreshBusch takes remote work outdoors with TreeWork spaceCarl's Jr. and Hardees bring Adult Swim toys to combo mealsHow the U.S. Army built a modern-day marketing practiceNetflix makes its biggest acquisition ever — the Roald Dahl catalogRad Power Bikes' new RadCity e-bike makes commuting (and hill climbing) much easierThis Miniature Robot Is Designed To Help You Carry Groceries and Run ErrandsIf you enjoyed this episode of The Radcast, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and share the word if you love our podcast, so we can keep giving you the strategies to achieve radical marketing results! You can follow us on Instagram @the.rad.cast | @radical_results | @ryanalford |

Welcome to another episode on The Radcast! In this episode on The Radcast, host Ryan Alford talks with James Merrill, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Opolis Optics.James talks about his experiences and the challenges he faced while working with international NGOs and USAID. He talks about what it means for Opolis to focus on its mission while making sure the brand is keeping up with the trends in fashion. James also shared the objectives and inspiration for creating Opolis as a brand, future plans for Opolis and tips on how to build a successful company, and more…James also has a quick take on RAD or FAD trending topics;Polarize lensesSolar PanelsCanton New YorkInstagram ReelsLearn more about Opolis Optics: https://opolisoptics.com/ Instagram: @opolis_optics Follow James Merrill on Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/james-merrill-37a4627; Instagram: @jamesmrrll and Twitter: jcmerr04.If you enjoyed this episode of The Radcast, let us know by visiting our website www.theradcast.com or leave us a review on Apple Podcast. Be sure to keep up with all that's radical from @ryanalford @radical_results @the.rad.cast

A poem a day keeps the sadness at bay.

3. března 1926 se narodil americký básník, spisovatel a dramatik James Merrill. Obě básně přeložil Petr Mikeš, vyšlo v antologii "Vítr z Narragansettu", vydalo nakladatelství Fra v roce 2003. Podcast "Báseň na každý den" poslouchejte na Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts a na dalších platformách. Domovská stránka podcastu je na www.rogner.cz/basen-na-kazdy-den. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/basennakazdyden/message

James, founder of Opolis Optics, spent the last decade living and working on every corner of the world for The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other international NGOs. From Asia to the Middle East and all across Africa, James helped to build and expand programs that addressed gender and economic inequality, agricultural value chains, climate change, and biodiversity protection policies. ​ All of this allowed James to see the magnificent beauty of the world first hand; the sights, the people, the cultures. However, the images of violence, poverty, pollution and abandonment he saw have stayed with him too. That's what Opolis is born out of. The beauty and despair James experienced around the world inspired him to create a brand with a soul; a company that's able to uplift and benefit the communities (and the unsung heroes) he met along the way; a lifestyle that would take his love for travel, culture, photography, the environment and adventure, and use it to have a positive impact. And so it happened. James left his old life behind and created Opolis Optics, a sunglasses brand on a mission to help those in need, while shedding light on the beauty and afflictions both people and the planet endure every day.

A series of deaths and personal losses in 2018 hang over Mark Wunderlich's poems in his new collection, God of Nothingness (Graywolf Press). We talk about that writing, how living through it unwittingly prepared him for the past year in Pandemia, and how the current situation compares with his arrival in NYC at the height of AIDS. We get into the uses of autobiography in poetry (his editor refers to his poems as "fiercely autobiographical"), Mark's queerness being tied to his poetic-self, the inspiration of James Merrill and his mentorship by JD McClatchy, the notion of a poem as a created environment permitting freedom, why his poems go from longhand to typewriter to computer, his experience conducting a Rilke course by snail-mail in 2020, his pandemic-adjustments as director of the Bennington Writing Seminars graduate writing program, and more. Follow Mark on Twitter and Instagram • More info at our site • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Patreon or Paypal

The Math Campers is Dan Chiasson's fifth book of poetry. He is the poetry critic for The New Yorker, a frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books, and teaches English at Wellesley College.  You can checkout The Math Campers at the Deerfield Public Library, and find Dan Chiasson on Twitter @dchiasso.  The Math Campers has a thrilling and unique structure. Imagining a reader who narrates her correspondence with a poet named Dan Chiasson, the book contains poetic scraps, drafts, and blank spaces, which only sometimes lead to more completed poems. This “making-of” structure coincides with Chiasson's continued investigations into his childhood and adolescence, as his sons enter adolescence themselves. Add a science fiction plot about a group of teen summer campers trying to stop time, and you have a collection both zany and elegiac that questions the nature of art.  We discuss where these ideas come from, and why poetry does what it does. You'll also hear Dan read some of his poems and reflect on the lineage of poets cited in this book, including T.S. Eliot, James Merrill, and Frank Bidart. We welcome your comments and feedback--please send to: podcast@deerfieldlibrary.org. More info at: http://deerfieldlibrary.org/podcast Follow us: Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube 

In this episode, Spencer Reece guides us through a reading of "Christmas Tree," one of the last poems that James Merrill wrote before his death. We learned so much through this conversation--about the friendship between James Merrill and Spencer Reece, the rhetorical force of visual poems, and the emotional power of elegy during the AIDS pandemic as well as in our own moment. For the full text of "Christmas Tree," please see this page (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=39363) from the September 1995 issue of Poetry magazine. For more on James Merrill, please see this page (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/james-merrill) from the Poetry Foundation website. For more on Spencer Reece, please see this page (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/spencer-reece) from the Poetry Foundation website.

Poet Henri Cole joins the show to celebrate his brand-new collection, Blizzard: Poems (FSG). We get into his evolution as a poet over the 10 volumes he's published to date, the transformative year he spent in Japan, how the closet compelled queer poets to develop original emblems and symbols to convey their private experience (and his transcendent experience of reading James Merrill's Christmas Tree), and how a fan letter from Harold Bloom gave him a foundation during some tough times. We also get into his wonderful 2018 memoir, Orphic Paris (NYRB), whether he misses France or California more during the pandemic, his affinity for literary pilgrimage (and a recent one he took to Elizabeth Bishop's grave), his use of the sonnet form and his enjoyment of the constraints and parameters of the physical page, how he knows (or thinks he knows) when a poem is done, and more! Follow Henri on Twitter • More info at our site • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Patreon or Paypal

The Hive was thrilled to host Armen Davoudian and hear poems from his forthcoming book, Frost Place Chapbook contest winner Swan Song (Bull City Press). Farnaz Fatemi talked to Armen about translation as metaphor, James Merrill, listening to poems in foreign tongues, growing up Armenian in Isfahan, and how "the sonnet is perfectly engineered to talk about immigration.” "Alibi" (in The Offing) "Wake-Up Call" (Poetry Daily)

Kate Wolf talks with "It Girl" Natasha Stagg about her new essay collection from Semiotexte: Sleeveless: Fashion, Image, Media 2011-19. Natasha explains overcoming her reluctance to move to NYC, how she landed in the fashion world - simultaneously at its center and on the periphery - and what she discovered there. This most-priveleged sphere in the capital of the world is just part of the scenery: where the old is new again until the moment of re-interpretation passes; the thrill of creativity is tangible, yet nothing to get excited about; and it's most definitely post-Post-Modern yet pastiche, nostalgia, and appropriation remain the order of day. Telling tales of Late Capitalism in its interminable phase. The conversation also inspires Medaya Ocher, LARB's Managing Editor, to reveal details of her previous life as a Parisian fashion photographer. Also, Ariana Reines, author of the A Sand Book, returns to recommend two exceptional works of poetry, one old, one new: James Merrill's National Book Award winning epic from the late 70s, The Changing Light at Sandover; and Edgar Garcia's Skins of Columbus: A Dream Ethnography.

Promising enormous returns on a "work from home" opportunity selling their TelexFree phone service, Carlos Wanzeler and James Merrill entice close to one million people around the world to spend, and then lose an extraordinary $1.7 billion in the largest pyramid scheme ever prosecuted in the US. (Original television broadcast: 06-25-2018) Want to binge watch your Greed? The latest episodes at: https://www.cnbc.com/american-greed/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey there fellow nerds and geeks, thank you so much for tuning into the Hall H Show podcast! Aaron Nabus here and along with my co-host, Alex Benedicto, we are the voice of independent creators! On episode 70, we share my WonderCon 2019 conversation with three friends, James Merrill, John Kimpson and Michael Scott, who all came together to realize their dream of creating comic books. Forming Thing-a-majig Studios they intend to explore new ways of telling stories and rich experiences in drama, action, adventure, and sci-fi. In short, they want to deliver “Entertainment for Your Imagination.” I got a chance to meet them earlier this year at Black Comix Day 2019 which was held in San Diego, CA and was organized by Keithan Jones, from KID Comics. When I heard that they were going to be at WonderCon, I thought it would be a good opportunity to get to know them a bit better and talk about their comic book, Me & Mr. Jones. The illustrations look incredible and I could see this being adapted into a cartoon! We cover comic books, movies, anime, diversity and more, so please enjoy my conversation with Thing-a-majig Studios!

Poet and literary scholar Stephen Yenser talks about James Merrill and his poetic epic The Changing Light at Sandover (1982), based on decades of Ouija board communications. Topics include: devotion, Maya Deren, duplicity, friendship, the alchemy of language, and Yenser’s recent annotation of the first part of Merrill’s masterpiece, The Book of Ephraim (PenguinRandomHouse).   

More stories from "Small Towns, Big Stories," the summer 2016 issue of Connecticut Explored . Poetry and Patriots in Stonington A visit to an unexpected listing on the National Register of Historic Places: poet James Merrill's fourth-floor walk-up pied-a-terre in Stonington. Special guest poet-in-residence Noah Warren reads from Merrill's work and reveals how this place inspired both his and Merrill's poetry. And Beth Moore of the Stonington Historical Society gives us a highlights tour of historic sites in Stonington. Shack Attack: Summer Eats in Connecticut Find out where to get great clams, hot dogs, and ice cream at Connecticut's most iconic roadside food shacks.

Poet Rachel Hadas returns to the show to talk about her new books, Talking To The Dead, and Questions in the Vestibule. It's been two years since we talked, so I had loads of questions for her. How did she rediscover love after losing her husband to early onset dementia? Why is translation like her Sudoku? How did she wind up pals with James Merrill (and what's her take on his Ouija poems)? What do we lose and gain in the act of translation? And how did she become a love poet after spending her career writing elegies? Listen in for a great conversation! More info at our site • Support The Virtual Memories Show at Patreon or Paypal

J. D. McClatchy joins Paul Muldoon to read and discuss James Merrill's "164 East 72nd Street," and his own poem “CaĞaloĞlu.”

The great poet, critic, librettist and bon vivant J.D. McClatchy joins the show to talk about outliving his idols, adapting my favorite novel to opera, having his life changed by Harold Bloom, collecting letters from the likes of Proust and Housman, and marrying Chip Kidd! We also get into his friendship with James Merrill, pop culture's triumph over high culture, his genetic inability to read comics, why he loathed Ezra Pound as a person and as an artist, how sexual politics has replaced social politics, the experience of teaching the first gay literature course at Yale in 1978 (and getting dropped because of it), and how a serious poet writes for the dead, not the living.

“Electronic culture created soulless replacements for connective rituals — television supplanted tribal legends told by the fire; ‘fast food’ consumed in distraction took the place of a shared meal. We substituted matter for Mater (feminine principle), money for mother’s milk, objects for emotional bonds.”Daniel PinchbeckPhilosopher. Author. Futurist. Counter culture provocateur.Described as a mashup of James Merrill, H. P. Lovecraft, and Carlos Castaneda, I was first introduced to Daniel Pinchbeck through his rather fascinating metaphysical study of prophesy in 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl*– a book that explored humanity's precarious balance between greater self-potential and environmental disaster.Raised by Beat generation parents — his mother dated Jack Kerouac around the time On The Road exploded on the scene – Daniel’s roots in the New York counterculture movement run deep. Throughout the 1990s, Pinchbeck matured into a member of New York's literary select. He wrote for publications such as The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Rolling Stone and Harper's Bazaar.But slowly something happened. As he approached his late twenties, he describes falling into a deep spiritual crisis fueled by a frustration with the inherent shortcomings of mainstream media and a friend's sudden passing due to a heroin overdose. Despair ultimately led him to an investigation of shamanism. Embracing metaphysical belief systems, his psyche and body began to open to the mystical. His first book, Breaking Open the Head*, chronicled these experiences and observations from a first hand perspective and was heralded as the most significant on psychedelic experimentation since the work of Terence McKenna.Today, everything Mayan, shamanistic and post-modern psychedelia seems to always point to this uniquely perspicacious, probing mind. And I think it's fair to say that Daniel is considered a leading pioneer of the post-modern psychedelic movement, advocating a measured, responsible exploration of shamanistic cultural rites and the substances they employ to expand consciousness.If Daniel is anything, he is a maverick, persistently challenging social, political, economic and cultural paradigms. A man searching for answers both personal and global, his insights are both provocative and fascinating, and more often than not imbued with hope for a better (if not idealized) future world.A confession: Daniel has a prodigious intellect. I admit to being a bit intimidated. Moreover, I have no experience with psychedelics, and as a sober person in recovery it is unlikely I ever will. So I was unsure as to whether interviewing him would be a good idea or even appropriate for this show. But the opportunity arose and I couldn't imagine passing it up.I’m glad I didn’t. Much like my recent conversation with Tom Hardin, this episode marks a departure into new terrain for me. On a personal level, I found Daniel to be engaging, introspective and not surprisingly possessed with the rare ability to muse on a vastly diverse array of challenging themes.This is a fascinating — albeit at times challenging — mind-bender deep dive into Daniel's paradigm breaking vision that explores:* the raising of global consciousness;* the imperative for community building; See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Then another class that I thought went pretty well (two decent classes in one day!) on Beckett's Film.  To put in the form of a paradoxical tweet: the title refers to Buster Keaton's irreducible and insoluble condition, existing in a film of perception, not to the fact that it's a film. But what I was glad to have articulated was the distinction opposing what I was calling the Descartes/Kant/Emersonian view that the difference between the perceived (empirical) self and the perceiving self redounded to the absolute, transcendental priority of the perceiving self's noetic vector towards freedom to the Beckett/Berkeley view that the perceived self is what actually exists (esse is percipi) and therefore our own feeble, foible-filled, failing, febrile facticity is what we actually are and what we can't escape.  Beckett's Berkeley prevents (paradoxically, again) any sublimation towards idealism, and keeps us as the inescapable sum of our accidents, always covered by, always in fact identical to, a sticky film of the local, limited, particularized being that I am.  (What Philip Roth, in The Counterlife, was parodying when Zuckerman meets a guy who plans to be cryonically frozen in order to achieve immortality when the science catches up with death.  Zuckerman shakes his head at the idea of the guy -- Barry Shuskin -- looking forward to "a billion more years of being himself.... Forever Shuskin.")  "Alas for characteristics," as James Merrill put it.

Piotr Gwiazda has published two books of poetry, Messages (2012) and Gagarin Street (2005), as well as a critical study, James Merrill and W.H. Auden: Homosexuality and Poetic Influence (2007). His translation of Polish poet Grzegorz Wróblewski’s book of prose poems, Kopenhaga, is forthcoming from Zephyr Press. He was Writer in Residence at the James Merrill House in Stonington in the fall of 2008. He teaches at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.Joseph Ross is the author of two poetry collections: Meeting Bone Man (2012) and Gospel of Dust (2013). His poems appear in many anthologies and literary journals including Poet Lore, Tidal Basin Review, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, and Drumvoices Revue. He has received three Pushcart Prize nominations and is the winner of the 2012 Pratt Library / Little Patuxent Review Poetry Contest. He teaches English at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., and writes regularly at www.JosephRoss.net.Read poems by Piotr Gwiazda here, here, and here.Read poems by Joseph Ross here and here. Recorded On: Wednesday, August 7, 2013