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Blues #5 [by Cleis Abeni]
What kind of form are the blues? When I say form, I do not only mean traditional verse forms like the sonnet. Everything that is intelligently conceived has form even if that structure is…
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Blues #4 [by Cleis Abeni]
It’s one thing to suggest the opposite of what you mean—classic verbal irony. But, what if two different statements suggesting the opposite of their meaning follow each other in tandem. Then, what if these…
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Tales of the Nineties: What He Does [by Alan Ziegler]
Ralph works for EMS. He never talks about what he does. One night, we’re all watching the local news. The reporter describes a triple murder in the Bronx, and says, “One of the…
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Blues #3 [by Cleis Abeni]
Ever heard the stereotype that blacks in the United States talk too loudly at movie theaters? Needless to say, blacks aren’t the only folks to shout out phrases at the cinema like, “Don’t go…
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Blues #2 [by Cleis Abeni]
Today, I share key overarching ideological truths about the blues. To begin, let me journey back to a time many years ago when I taught jazz dance and music (as well as writing) for…
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“Uniformity” Wins the Day: David Lehman Picks the First Line of the “Next Line, Please” Contest.
Last week, after a summer hiatus, David Lehman returned to run the American Scholar's "Next Line Please" contest. He kicked off the fall season with an invitation to submit the first line for a…
