Marvels

It's National Poetry Month! I'll be participating in two separate but equally excellent celebrations courtesy of Deborah Ager at 32 Poems and Kelli Russell Agodon at Book of Kells. For the former, I'll be recommending five poetry collections that are important to me and saying a little bit about why. My picks will go up on April 11th. For the latter, I'll be giving away two books as part of the Big Poetry Giveaway! Leave a comment on the Giveaway post to be entered! I'll also be posting poems I dig throughout the month, as well as poetry-related snippets that seem worth sharing--not much rhyme or reason there, and likely something that will continue past April...

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The earth is often perceived as a foolproof Google map — not very large, easily accessible and knowable by any finger-drumming geek with a computer. In some respects this is true. Distance is no longer a problem. You can nip over to Hong Kong or spend a weekend in Dubai, or Rio. But as some countries open up, others shut down. And some countries have yet to earn their place on the traveler’s map, such as Turkmenistan and Sudan. But I’ve been to both not long ago — one of very few sightseers. And along with oppression and human rights violations, I found hospitality, marvels and a sense of discovery.

-via NYT

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Killer first line of the moment:

"It's strange what the past brings back."

from "Driving Through Tennessee" by Charles Wright
(The Southern Cross, Random House, 1977)

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So Beautiful or So What is Simon's first album since 2006's Surprise. It's also his best sinceGraceland, from the opener ("Getting Ready for Christmas Day") to the closing title track. "The Afterlife" echoes Graceland's world fusion, graced with syncopated African rhythms and guitarist Vincent Nguini's mellifluous guitar playing, while "Dazzling Blue" incorporates Indian rhythms and highlights Simon's own wonderful guitar playing, which is so often overshadowed by the strength of his lyrics.

-listen to the entire new Paul Simon album over at NPR

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A generational shift is taking place in which longer forms of writing are being replaced with shorter ones, and sustained thought with shallower forms of multitasking. Those skills have value, but a growing percentage of students are arriving at college without ever having written a research paper, read a novel, or taken an essay examination. And those students do not perceive that they have missed something in their education; after all, they have top grades. In that context, the demands of professors for different kinds of work can seem bewildering and unreasonable, and students naturally gravitate to courses with more-familiar expectations. Without a carefully structured curriculum with required courses and regulation of standards across comparable courses, it's possible to graduate without acquiring foundational skills. Lacking proper preparation for college-level work, it's no wonder that so many students resort to plagiarism and paper mills, particularly since untenured college teachers—more than 70 percent of the faculty and growing—do not have the support needed to counter rampant cheating. And students know it.

via Chronicle of Higher Education

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The 2011 National Magazine Award finalists include 54 titles. Twenty magazines received multiple nominations—led by The New Yorker with 9—and 6 magazines were nominated for the first time.