Publishing poetry is like tossing a rose in the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo, they say - but a blurb is like an echo heard before you let go! What echo? The kind words of the wonderful poet, translator, editor, and scholar, 👑 @BorisDralyuk for Kingdom of the Clock!

It’s easy to take Jane Austen for granted because we live in the world that she created. We struggle to see how groundbreaking and innovative her novels are because they set the template for all modern fiction. Pride & Prejudice, to cite the most obvious example, did more than invent a genre. Anyone who now writes a story in which two people fall in love is either inspired by her or reacting against her. She’s like Tolkien in that sense. But she did much more than that. She perfected a method of narration known as “free indirect discourse” that’s now used by virtually every writer. You have only to read the novels of pre-Austen writers to see what a tremendous difference she made through her use of this technique. Literary scholar John Mullan argues that Emma launched a revolution in form & technique that’s comparable to the innovations of Joyce and Proust. It is the favorite novel of Susanna Clarke and of Katherine Rundell, who calls it “a book that shows as much of the sweep of the human heart, of fear, love, morality, untruth, foolery and triumph as a Shakespearean drama.” It is also, arguably, the novel that invented the mystery genre, having what J. K. Rowling has called the biggest twist in literature. You don’t notice the greatness of Austen for the same reason a fish doesn’t know that it lives in water.

Both born on this date, Dylan Thomas (1914–1953) and Sylvia Plath (1932–1963). Plath loved the work of Thomas "more than life itself", and once missed meeting him, loitering around his hotel for two days vainly hoping to encounter him (he had already left).

New poem in London Magazine! Thanks to the editors for including it.

Tell that to C. S. Lewis: “I've been reading Pride & Prejudice on and off all my life and it doesn't wear out a bit. Her books have only two faults and both are damnable: they are too few and too short.”

Thanks to @newversereview for publishing "Muzzleloader Season." Here's the beginning, click on the link to read the whole thing. @NHfishandgame newversereview.com/issue-3-4…

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde came out 4 years before Picture of Dorian Grey, but I’ve just now discovered Dostoyevsky wrote a novella on the theme of dual identity as well called The Double that came out prior to either…friends, is this a good autumn read?? I just finished Jekyll and Hyde and it was great fall reading

Sorry to vaguetweet, but I got news today that makes me think it would be a good idea for poets to submit to the upcoming issue of @PoemsforPOI rather than waiting for the next time around. Just do it! pfpoi.blogspot.com/p/submiss…

Happy birthday to Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834), a founder of the Romantic movement, poet, critic, and philosopher. Author of "The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere," "Christabel," "Kubla Khan," and so much more!

I grow old, I grow old. My coffee has gone cold. The beans I grind in daily faith are rich, but not too bold. I grow old, I grow old. My coffee has gone cold.

If I didn’t have responsibilities, I would go to a double feature of “history of concrete” and “you can see everything” tonight. In a heartbeat Instead, I’ll sit on the couch and watch football. It’s called growing up

I'm especially proud to be the publisher of this poem. Take note, @ND_EthicsCenter . modernagejournal.com/letter-…

By @ADigressions , self recommending