Travis Poling

Here's a poem I wrote today. The Sixth Day God made people so that we could name creation. Together we look and say, “It is good.”

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Do you know what Creek is?

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Madam's Organ, a Washington, DC blues bar I frequented in 2002 on bluegrass nights, won the National Restaurant Association's 2009 Restaurant Neighbor Award in the small business category. It's a funny sounding name for sure, but it's inspired by its neighborhood, named Adams Morgan. Madam's Organ won because the staff regularly takes local kids to the beach, kids who would otherwise have little to no opportunity to ever see the ocean. Watch for the story to appear around the 4:15 mark in...

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In preparation for pounding the pavement, looking for kitchen work in my small yet-full-of-great-restaurants town, I did some research for my résumé and dug around to find my old bosses. Nearly all of them had moved on to another position or establishment, but I still knew where to find them. One boss--one of the best I've known--however, remained aloof. Back in high school, I apprenticed at the $50-a-plate fusion restaurant Empire Global Cuisine in Carlisle, PA. "Apprenticed" means I worked...

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South African poet and anti-apartheid activist Dennis Brutus died in Cape Town on Dec. 26 at the age of 85. I got to know Dennis a little while I was a student at the University of Pittsburgh from 1999 to 2000 where he directed the Africana Studies department. He was a fierce activist for the rights of the oppressed, and supported student and faculty political organizers who put pressure on the University to provide domestic partner benefits to its employees. I never knew him as a teacher, but...

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From Savage Chickens

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Poet John Lundberg wonders on Huffington Post, "Is Rap Poetry?"It's the kind of question that makes poetry's gatekeepers spin in their office chairs, and it's easy to understand why. Comparing the two genres, there's a huge difference in artfulness and intent. It's hard to compare John Keats' meditations on the sublime to Nelly's meditations on sneakers, and Plath and P. Diddy just look silly together. At the same time--especially at a time when many consider poetry to be a dying art--I'm a...

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Performance poet Rives gives his two cents on the Internet at TED Talks.

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Imagine having a poetry teacher like Mr. Essex from Sesame Street!

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From Post Secret, 11/22/09. Read more secret confessions at Post Secret.

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The latest major film examining poetry focuses on 19th century English Romantic poet John Keats. NYTimes classifies it as a Critic's Pick. Read the review. The film is accompanied by the publication of Bright Star: Love Letters and Poems of John Keats to Fanny Brawne, available on Amazon.

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Browse more bathroom poetry at Ask A Urinal.

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Huffington Post tells the story of on poetry addict amidst the current recession.Clearly I have a problem. As the recovery merchants are always eager to remind us, we take the first of the 12 steps by admitting our own powerlessness in the face of addiction. Maybe I need help. Am I putting my family's retirement fund in peril for the sake of enjambment and interior rhyme? If the ax falls and I find myself joining the laid-off throngs--I did not know that downsizing had undone so many--will I...

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More poet costume ideas at poets.org.

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More ridiculous rap lyrics at Snacks and Shit.

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Art by Gabrielle Bell. Text by Emily Dickinson.

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www.toothpastefordinner.com

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