World Poetry Day!!

Here at Indiana Review, we are all wearing party hats, neon pants, and flashy gold earrings to celebrate World Poetry Day.

We also are handing out and hanging up our posters for our upcoming poetry reading! Yay! We are so excited. If you haven't heard about it yet, check it out: The details are on our website and on facebook. Yup! Erika Meitner, Steve Scafidi, and Curtis Bauer are coming here to read & to celebrate on Friday March 25.

Coincidentally, March 25 also ends our Poetry Contest -- so as fun as dancing in neon pants is in celebration of World Poetry day, sit down an minute and submit online or via the snail mail to our prize. Give us a chance to read your work, give yourself a chance to win $1000 and publication. Details Here.

Then dance some more.

Oscars and Other Awards

It's true. I watched the Oscars last night with some friends, admiring the purple frocks and pretty people in my hometown sunshine, while I listened to the rumble of thunder outside and read from the New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics on Alliterative Verse.

Wouldn't it be fun(ny) if several industries held such grand events, red carpet, televised awards shows for third grade teachers, or fire fighters, or IRS agents, or acrobatic dogs. Oh wait, the dogs have one. But still, what if instead of America's Next Top Model, Tyra went searching for America's Next Top Poet. What if next year's reality show like Top Chef were based in a writer's workshop? It's funny to imagine what footage they could take: a writer at her desk. Close up on her pen--does she prefer ball point or felt tip?

Even though most writers don't often get to borrow diamonds and designer tuxes, we have our own glitz and glam. Our own celebrities and awards. And I'm pretty okay with the fact we don't need to walk around in five inch sparkly heels. Not that there is anything wrong with sparkles or heels.

If you got to nominate a writer for an Oscar, who would you choose? For what category? I think I'd nominate Daniel Nester (featured in 31.1) for Most Twitterrific.

Alessandra

Obama and Orwell

It's the day after Inauguration Day, and besides Aretha's amazing hat, there was a lot to talk about. But, since we're a literary journal, we thought we'd admire a kind of writing that's often ignored and unrecognized--like letter-writing--speech writing:
This is literature.

In other news, George Orwell died on this day 59 years ago. Check out his essay, "Politics and the English Language," and see how Obama (or Obama's speech writer) measures up.