Riehlife Poem of the Day: Langston Hughes’ “A Negro Speaks of River” with links to audio and scholarly article

Byriehlifegrace April 3, 2008

I’ve known rivers:
I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the
flow of human blood in human veins.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

This is the first stanza of one of my favorite poems “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” by Langston Hughes (from The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes, published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.) written in the early 1920s.

Click here to read the full text of the poem and to hear Langston Hughes tell how he came to write “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and read the poem itself. You can also read his entire bio here and learn how Missouri and Illinois were formative.

Click here to read the abstract of a scholarly essay by Meta DuEwa Jones on Langston Hughes titled “Listening to What the Ear Demands.” I just love the title. Writing for the ear as much as the mind is an important part of my voice as a writer.

Ernest Dempsey Serves Up Traditions with a Twist in “THE BITING AGE”

Byriehlifegrace May 22, 2007May 22, 2007

This week I’m featuring Ernest Dempsey and his new book The Biting Age. We’ll be chatting about writing, his life in Pakistan and the virtual world. I’ll also be bringing you an excerpt from his book. Here’s my review of Ernest Dempsey’s The Biting Age: Ernest Dempsey’s mind dances on the pages of the Biting…

Independent Book Report Interview for Erwin A. Thompson and Janet Grace Riehl

Byriehlifegrace September 26, 2007October 4, 2007

You can read our interview “Eleven things about Janet Riehl and Erwin A. Thompson” by clicking here. What I liked about how the interview came out was the comparison and contrast for my father and me, our books, and how we write. Here are the eleven questions you can read our answers for. 1. Tell…

Adult’s Reading Kid’s Stuff

Byriehlifegrace June 17, 2008June 18, 2008

My niece Janean Baird is a tigress reader in Illinois. She writes today about the summer reading program at their library. –JGR _____________________ I’m participating in the Adult’s Reading Kid’s Stuff at the library again. I love that I can get prizes for reading this summer too! Also, with children’s literature I can read it…

Prose and Poetry

Riehlife Poem-of-the-Day: “Natural Causes” by Colleen McKee

Byriehlifegrace April 29, 2010April 29, 2010

I met Colleen McKee through a St. Louis poetry workshop “Loosely Identified.” Colleen, a St. Louisan, is the author of a collection of poetry, My Hot Little Tomato (Cherry Pie, 2007). She also co-edited Are We Feeling Better Yet? Women Speak About Health Care in America (PenUltimate, 2008). “Natural Causes” originally appeared in Criminal Class…

Left Bank Books names “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” by Junot Diaz as next reading group choice

Byriehlifegrace November 1, 2007November 1, 2007

If you are in St. Louis on November 13th at 7:30 p.m. and want to know about Oscar, the newest victim of the Fuku, the curse that has haunted his family for generations, dooming them to prison, torture, tragic accidents, and above all, ill-starred love…and (dare we hope?) how to avoid it…come over to Left…

Riehlife Poem of the Day: William Stafford’s “Note” from “Allegiances”

Byriehlifegrace April 23, 2008April 23, 2008

As a candidate for my masters degree in English literature at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville in the early 1970s, I co-edited the literary journal there, “Sou’Wester.” One of my poems that appeared there (juried of course by my co-editor) was “Under Mama’s Yew Tree.” Somehow it came to William Stafford’s attention across the country…

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