Lit
O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman
On the 200th year of his death, Walt Whitman's most popularly famous poem.
I Hear America Singing by Walt Whitman
In memoriam on Memorial Day and in memory of the death of Walk Whitman 200 years ago, America's poet.
Song of Myself, V by Walt Whitman
"Loafe with me on the grass, loose the stop from your throat," is one of my favorite lines of poetry.
Song Of Myself, XVI by Walt Whitman
This poem is an essential read as American is broken apart by people who believe themselves to be better—superior even—than their fellow citizens, "I resist any thing better than my own diversity, / Breathe the air but leave plenty after me, / And am not stuck up, and am in my place."
Song Of Myself, XXIV by Walt Whitman
This poem contains one of my favorite stanzas, "Unscrew the locks from the doors! / Unscrew the doors themselves from their jambs! / Whoever degrades another degrades me, / And whatever is done or said returns at last to me."
The Pure Contralto Sings In The Organ Loft by Walt Whitman
I don't know why I remember it, but the line, "the pure contralto sings in the organ loft," seared itself into my brain—maybe because "contralto" was a new word to me.
Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking by Walt Whitman
What a wonderful song, what a wonderful poem, from Walt Whitman, heralding the Summertime.
Bartleby, the Scrivener, by Herman Melville
While this short story is over 166-years-old, I find myself referencing this Melville classic almost every single day. It's even a current t-shirt meme. Here's the full text. If you love me, you should read this. If only to be in on the joke. "Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity!"
Gather Ye Rosebuds by Robert Herrick
If you've ever taken an early American literature course in college, this is indeed a class favorite. "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" is a poem written by English Cavalier poet Robert Herrick in the 17th century. First published in 1648 as number 208 in a volume of verse entitled Hesperides, it is perhaps one of the most famous poems to extol the notion of carpe diem, a philosophy that recognizes the brevity of life and, therefore, the need to live for and in the moment.
Must nectar be sweet?
Found poem from a hyperwriting exercise I did with students and online community members from back in 1998.
TheBUS
Found poetry from a hyperfiction I created collaboratively with a bunch of friends back in 1998, called Collabor8, or 8: A Collaborative Hypernarrative Fiction
The small apartment smells
Found poetry from a hyperfiction I created collaboratively with a bunch of friends back in 1998, called Collabor8, or 8: A Collaborative Hypernarrative Fiction
Seattle then
Found poetry from a hyperfiction I created collaboratively with a bunch of friends back in 1998, called Collabor8, or 8: A Collaborative Hypernarrative Fiction
Chocolate City
Found poetry from a hyperfiction I created collaboratively with a bunch of friends back in 1998, called Collabor8, or 8: A Collaborative Hypernarrative Fiction
Dad's Ashes
Found poetry from a hyperfiction I created collaboratively with a bunch of friends back in 1998, called Collabor8, or 8: A Collaborative Hypernarrative Fiction
Blue plastic kayaks
Found poetry from a hyperfiction I created collaboratively with a bunch of friends back in 1998, called Collabor8, or 8: A Collaborative Hypernarrative Fiction
Summertime wintertime in densest el nino washington here on the potomac
8:27) chris abraham 03-JAN-98 17:31
The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams
His most popular imagist poem. The most popular imagist poem. William Carlos Williams was an American poet, writer, and physician closely associated with modernism and imagism. In addition to his writing, Williams had a long career as a physician practicing both pediatrics and general medicine.
In the Beginning was the Command Line by Neal Stephenson
This was such an inspiration to me as a new LAMP programmer, American lit major, blogger, Linux guy, and command line aficionado.
Three Series, Complete, Poems by Emily Dickinson
As is well documented, Emily Dickinson's poems were edited in these early editions by her friends, better to fit the conventions of the times. In particular, her dashes, often small enough to appear as dots, became commas and semi-colons.
The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
This comprehensive and authoritative collection of all 1,775 poems by Emily Dickinson is an essential volume for all lovers of American literature. A powerful collection of verses by one of America's greatest poets. These beautiful, profound meditations on nature, spirit, faith, and love were created by the brilliant imagination of one of our most original poets.
Cats and Coffee by Llew Gowen
This poem is a series of Shadormas, a poetic form consisting of a six-line stanza or sestet. This form, which supposedly originated in Spain, contains 26 syllables in the order of 3/5/3/3/7/5. A poem may consist of one stanza, or an unlimited number of stanzas (a series of shadormas).
Some Amazing Words by Kurt Vonnegut from the Beginning for Palm Sunday
I am listening to the audio book of Palm Sunday by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and the beginning and introduction is so painfully good that I really want to share it with you! Hi ho.
I Was Merely a Dupe and a Fool
I wrote this short story on and around May 13, 2005. It's part of a larger, fictional, work called Hill Mole, but this is, rather, true and actual and taken from my own personal, Washington, DC, life experience.
Being a Young Cadet
More discovered autobiographical writing that I didn't fictionalize at all back in 2005 when I was writing Hill Mole. All about being a JROTC Ranger in Ranger Club at Saint Louis School in Honolulu, Hawaii, where I grew up. This is all true.
Memories of Zack's from the Mid 2000s
A lot had changes in DC over the last 30 years but I found a great bit of memories from the mid-2000s that I wrote around 2005 when I was going to Zack's Bar to play pool, drink, and hang out with my friends a lot. I also riff on life living in the city of Capitol Hill, Washington, DC.
Document Actions