TransAtlantic | The Atlantic Online | http://www.theatlantic.com

April 12, 2001

+ THIS WEEK ...

"However much we think of poetry as a disciplined scatter of words on
white, or the proud aestheticism of the thin volume," Sven Birkerts
writes in Atlantic Unbound this week, "it remains, at root,
historically and performatively, a pneumatic event. Pneumatic, from
the Greek root pneuma, relating to wind or air, but inescapably
carrying overtones of 'spirit' and 'soul.'"

Poetry has been the soul of Atlantic Unbound from the start. In fact,
the very first Web-only feature produced for The Atlantic's site,
coinciding with its official launch on November 1, 1995, included
recordings of Robert Pinsky reading excerpts from his acclaimed
translation of Dante's *Inferno*, the sound of his voice streaming
over the Internet in RealAudio 1.0, or downloaded in 8-bit .AU files.
(See http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/aandc/dante/danthome.htm --
and don't worry, the audio quality has since been upgraded.)

Five months later, on April 1, 1996, we launched the Poetry Pages
(http://www.theatlantic.com/poetry/). Featured that month were Peter
Davison's introduction and readings of Robert Frost's poems from the
August, 1915, Atlantic, along with readings by Rodney Jones and
Stephen Sandy of their poems appearing in the April issue,
inaugurating our ever-growing Audible Anthology of Atlantic poems
read aloud by the authors. (The anthology now contains more than 200
recordings by 81 poets. See
http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/poetry/antholog/aaindx.htm)

This month, to mark the fifth anniversary of the Poetry Pages, we're
presenting three text-and-audio features: Frank Bidart, Peter
Davison, and Robert Pinsky read Robert Lowell's poem "For the Union
Dead" (originally published in The Atlantic for November 1960), with
an introduction by Davison; Christopher Ricks reads and comments on
T. S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"; and Sven
Birkerts reviews newly released recordings of Randall Jarrell, one of
the twentieth century's great poet-critics, reading his own poems
(you can hear Jarrell reading "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner"
and "The Woman at the Washington Zoo").

Read, listen, and enjoy.

Cheers,

Wen Stephenson

* A post-script to our longtime TransAtlantic readers:

This is my last collection of Web-only features commissioned and
edited as editorial director of The Atlantic Online, though I'm happy
to say that they are not the last poetry features I will edit for the
site. (I'm leaving the staff of The Atlantic next month, but I will
continue to edit the site's Poetry Pages.) I am profoundly grateful
for having had the opportunity to work on The Atlantic's online
edition for what is almost seven years now. And I am grateful most of
all to my Atlantic colleagues, past and present; to the many writers
who have lent their words and their voices to our cause; and to you
our readers, who have lent your eyes and ears. Best wishes to all. -WS


+ In ATLANTIC UNBOUND, The Atlantic's online journal ...

Poetry Pages | Special Fifth-Anniversary Features

Editor's Note
POETRY AND THE WEB
by Wen Stephenson
Apr 11 | A personal view, five years later.
http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/poetry/ednote2001-04.htm

Soundings
ROBERT LOWELL'S "FOR THE UNION DEAD"
with Frank Bidart, Peter Davison, and Robert Pinsky
Apr 11 | "Four decades later," Peter Davison writes, "it still
'sticks like a fishbone/ in the city's throat.'" Frank Bidart and
Robert Pinsky join Davison in reading Lowell's masterpiece aloud.
http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/poetry/soundings/lowell.htm

Appreciations
"PRUFROCK, J. ALFRED PRUFROCK"
by Christopher Ricks
Apr 11 | Observations on T. S. Eliot's "love song " -- and its
unlikely leading man.
http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/poetry/prufrock.htm

Review
THE VOICE OF THE POET-CRITIC
by Sven Birkerts
Apr 11 | In the latest installment of the "Voice of the Poet" series
-- with recordings of Gertrude Stein, John Ashbery, and others -- the
unexpected star is Randall Jarrell, a poet who was known to write
some criticism.
http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/poetry/jarrell.htm

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+ In D.C. DISPATCH | from National Journal

Social Studies
EARTH TO NEW YORK TIMES -- YOU CALL THIS REFORM?
by Jonathan Rauch
Apr 11 | Real 'fake reform' only prolongs the death throes of the
unsalvageable campaign finance system.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/nj/rauch2001-04-11.htm

Legal Affairs
PAYING REPARATIONS FOR ANCIENT WRONGS IS NOT RIGHT
by Stuart Taylor Jr.
Apr 11 | When we seek to punish corporations, we actually punish
ourselves, because we're the ones who end up paying.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/nj/taylor2001-04-11.htm

Media
THE TOUCH OF EVIL
by William Powers
Apr 11 | What has made the pressies so taken with the notion of
exorcizing the evil greenback from American politics?
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/nj/powers2001-04-11.htm

Political Pulse
WHITE MEN CAN JUMP
by William Schneider
Apr 11 | Bush's support among white men could plummet if they think
he's mismanaging the economy.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/nj/schneider2001-04-11.htm

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+ In POST & RIPOSTE | Forum Highlights

"Spy Plane Repercussions"
What really happened in the airspace over the South China Sea? How
will the incident affect U.S.-China relations and regional stability?
http://forum.theatlantic.com/WebX?.ee6fab4

"The Art of Comics"
Can comics be considered serious literature? Join a discussion on
Peter Swanson's Atlantic Unbound essay, "Maus Culture."
http://forum.theatlantic.com/WebX?.ee6fa7c

"The Next Ruling Class?"
What makes today's students tick? And how did they get this way? Has
David Brooks drawn an accurate portrait of the meritocracy's next
generation? Join us for a special forum on the April cover story.
http://forum.theatlantic.com/WebX?.ee6f6b3

... and much more.
http://www.theatlantic.com/pr/

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