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Lying in a Hammock at Blue Mountain Center
The cords are strong
a loose weave strung
between white pines.
Now I will offer
a transcript of today’s news
and you’ll know it
as conceptual poetry
as this hammock
is a plagiarism
of all other hammocks
in all poems & the world.
My dream of originality
a copy
of an idea
no one had.
Like everyone
“I have wasted my life.”
Magpie day
mockingbird night
cuckoo mind
Maureen N. McLane’s most recent book is My Poets. She is Associate Professor of English at New York University.
Today’s poetry establishment commands polite respect but hardly enthusiasm and excitement.
Today’s poetry establishment commands polite respect but hardly enthusiasm and excitement.
In his new book, philosopher William MacAskill implies that humanity’s long-term survival matters more than preventing short-term suffering and death. His arguments are shaky.
In her new book, Danish poet Olga Ravn writes with open love, pity, and compassion for her strange yet familiar creations.
We must reject the legal liberalism that attempts to cordon off constitutional questions from democratic politics.
The United States ranked first on health security; then came COVID-19. In place of technocratic hubris, we need robust new forms of democratic humility.
To generate local, inclusive prosperity, cities must think beyond tech accelerators and science parks and instead embrace a wider range of innovation strategies.
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