A Saudi woman received a death threat last week after she appeared on “Poet of Millions,” Abu Dhabi’s version of the game show “American Idol” — which features aspiring poets instead of singers — and recited a poem attacking clerics for “terrorizing people and preying on everyone seeking peace.” http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/19/female-saudi-poet-known-for-controversial-verses-reaches-game-show-final/

Switchback's latest Marisa Crawford discusses "style-as-identity"over at Ironing Board Collective. Holla!

In a thoughtful and thorough review, Santos Perez writes, "De la Torre, throughout Talk Shows, seems to break all the rules of aesthetic etiquette, of any oppressive expectations of writing by a woman. Her work is filled with “wild waving” words and forms. Talk Shows shows the exciting potential of aesthetic excess, exploring poetic trends/movements (such as Oulipo), and exploding the use and meaning of color, formal patterns, and sound effects." Read the whole review her

Do you like Switchback Books? Do you want to be our friend? We're looking for someone to share our table with at the AWP DC Bookfair come February 2011! We already have a table booked, so if you'd like to share, drop us a line at editors [at] switchbackbooks [dot] com with a little info about who you are to let us know. Look forward to hearing from you!

On August 1st, this past Sunday, there was a poetry reading at Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, curated by Nina Corwin and in partnership with WBEZ's Chicago Amplified Series. Participating readers included Robin Behn, Lucia Blinn, Kimberly Dixon, Simone Muench, Jennifer K. Sweeney, and Connie Voisine. During the reading, Jennifer K. Sweeney read her poem "Adolescence," part of which contains a story about a middle school student jumping from a second-story window. At 2

The latest round of entries for the Gatewood contest had so many visuals included, it made me wonder if next year we might get some videos. If so, here's some inspiration: Two visual poems by Lou Doillon and Vanessa Bruno, directed by Stephanie Di Gusto for Vanessa Bruno. http://moodboard.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/01/vanessa-bruno-and-lou-doillon-visual-poem.html

a.k.a. usta-be-WILLA, has relaunched its website!