ISSUE SIX
February 1999

ISSUE SIX


THE CORTLAND REVIEW

INTERVIEWS
 
Henry Taylor

POETRY
 
Mark Bibbins
  Sharon Cumberland
  Philip Dacey
  Daniela Gioseffi
  Brent Goodman
  Mark Halperin
  Ben Howard
  Stellasue Lee
  Linda Lerner
  John McKernan
  DeWayne Rail
  David Rigsbee
  Peter Robinson
  Terry Savoie
  Joseph Stanton
  Mary Winters

REVIEWS
 
David Grayson

TRANSLATIONS
 
Lloyd Schwartz

FICTION
 
Rosa Shand
  Daniela Gioseffi

Editor's Note

When Edmund Clerihew Bentley was a teenager during the 1800's in Great Britain, he created a poetic form —unbeknownst to him— which would later be called the "Clerihew." It is a deceptively simple form Bentley devised in the idleness of his St. John's School Chemistry class—if only all creation were that simple!

Henry Taylor's Personal Greeting in realaudioFast-forward roughly one hundred years, and one of the leading U.S. poets, Henry Taylor, publishes several Clerihews in the New York Times. Though not as popular as Shakespeare's Sonnet, the Haiku, or the Villanelle made famous to the English speaking world by Dylan Thomas; the Clerihew has garnered a good share of poetic interest inside the writing community.

In the featured interview, I spoke with Henry Taylor about his career and his work; and in a recent visit he made to my house, we recorded some Clerihews for this issue (available in real audio). I found Henry to be a delightful Southern gentleman and poet—everything from the hat he wore, to his full-bodied accent and speaking voice. It was a great pleasure to sit down for a bit and chat about things. The interview itself was conducted during the months of November, December '98, and January '99.

Issue Six, as you can see, has the distinction of being the first issue designed in our new online layout. It is a foreshadowing of things to come, as we are currently working on a new design for the entire magazine. As well, you may notice an improved quality of sound in the audio selections.

The staff would like to thank everyone for their interest in TCR: A few words of acknowledgement to Poets Market 1999, where a listing for The Cortland Review appears; to Chelsea, Shenandoah, and
The Academy of American Poets who have been more than generous with their support; and to Thea Kearney for her time and dedication.

—J.M. Spalding, February 1999

 

 

 

Copyright � 1999 The Cortland Review Issue SixThe Cortland Review