Articles written by Holly Pettit

By the time western adventurers such as Caroline Mytinger and Margaret Warner arrived in 1926, the once-isolated islands of Melanesia had already changed.

Jan 28, 2009 - Holly Pettit

Rita Dove's Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas and Beulah has many children and grandchildren in today's poetry world.

Jul 5, 2006 - Holly Pettit

Thom Satterlee's linking narrative Burning Wyclif won the 2006 Walt McDonald First Book prize, and is probably the best book to come out this year.

Jun 28, 2006 - Holly Pettit

Enjoy Thomas Wolfe the novelist? John S. Barnes saw poetry in Wolfe's work, and through careful selection and a few skillful line breaks, he reveals it to us.

Jun 24, 2006 - Holly Pettit

The casual reader in a bookstore might pick up Scott Hightower's Part of the Bargain and think, "Huh, Brokeback poetry." That would be a gross misunderstanding.

Jun 15, 2006 - Holly Pettit

In the past 50 years, poetry has broken away from its traditional relationship with music, and formed an attachment to painting. Craig Raine's work, however, has both.

Jun 13, 2006 - Holly Pettit

During her visits of April through December 1996, Erin Noteboom recorded her conversations with Carl Hruska, an American veteran of WWII.

Jun 9, 2006 - Holly Pettit

For those who miss New Orleans, for those who stared at televised images of Katrina’s wake and wondered “why?” Red Beans and Ricely Yours will be a revelation.

Jun 8, 2006 - Holly Pettit

Illustrated poem, novel-in-verse, Sam Savage has written a children’s book for adults. With simple, deft verse he sketched out characters readers can really care about.

Jun 2, 2006 - Holly Pettit

It’s an altered book based on the 19th century hit novel-in-verse Lucile. It’s fiction. It’s Journal: The Short Life and Mysterious Death of Amy Zoe Mason.

May 20, 2006 - Holly Pettit

Purists mumble “linking narratives are not novels-in-verse!!!” while cuddling their threadbare Lucile. Now, let’s take a moment to sort these concerns out.

May 1, 2006 - Holly Pettit

In Ultima Thule, poet Davis McCombs creates a delicate and sophisticated novel-in-verse by breaking the rule that says poems should be unnoted and self-contained.

Apr 7, 2006 - Holly Pettit

How do poets subtly introduce background information to a narrative while maintaining poetic integrity? In Les Murray’s gritty drama, Fredy Neptune, photos help.

Mar 31, 2006 - Holly Pettit

Alice Notley and Ellen Bryant Voigt make us live their works, but how? Let’s face it; a book length poem is daunting.

Mar 24, 2006 - Holly Pettit

The entry piece to a book-length narrative poem holds even more importance than it would in a general collection. Mary Jo Bang and Ruth Whitman share a technique.

Mar 18, 2006 - Holly Pettit

Before the age of the novel, much of history and literature was written in narrative verse. With the resurgence of book-length poems, we return to our Homeric roots.

Mar 7, 2006 - Holly Pettit