Our lovely readers

Good looking & talented

Photo courtesy of Alex Young.

Finally, acknowledgement from the Literary Establishment

Thanks for the *shout-out*, Abby. You can *chat about* me any time you like.

In other news, I am a "bright and decent human being"
who knew.

Teacher and Student

VacationHouse is returning to its Wednesday [7pm] schedule this week. We are featuring a rare treat this week--a student reading alongside her former teacher. I fully expect some version of the following exchange:
'The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner. Now I am the master.'
'Only a master of evil, Jess.'
'Your powers are weak, old man.'
'You can't win, Jess. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.'

ah, if only. Still, in spite of its non-violent nature, the reading should be full of sparks...

JESSICA FJELD was selected by Lyn Hejinian as the recipient of the
Poetry Society of America's New York Chapbook Fellowship in 2006. Her
poems are forthcoming in the next issue of the Backwards City Review,
and have previously appeared in the Columbia Review. Like 2.6 million
other people, she lives in Brooklyn.
Find work here [and here]

TIMOTHY DONNELLY is the author of Twenty-Seven Props for a Production of Eine Lebenszeit and Poetry Editor of Boston Review. He lives in Brooklyn.
Find work here, here, and here

Poets with Italian Surnames

Though I was rooting for the French, Vacation House, in its eternal wisdom, has arranged itself in perfect form to celebrate Italy's world championship with readings from two phenomenal poets who just happen to have Italian surnames. Come McNally Robinson tomorrow [Monday] and revel. No headbutts, i promise.

SARAH MANGUSO is the author of two poetry collections, *Siste Viator* and *The Captain Lands in Paradise.* Her first story collection, *Hard to Admit and Harder to Escape,* is forthcoming from McSweeney's Books in 2007. She teaches at the Pratt Institute and lives in Brooklyn.

Find work here, here, and here.

PAUL VIOLI's eleventh book of poems, *Overnight*, will be published this
winter. He is the recipient of the Zabel Award from the American Academy of Arts
and Letters and numerous other poetry awards. He teaches at Columbia and
in the MFA program at New School.

Find work here, here and here
Paul also has a modern american poet's page, for those of you who are planning on writing a paper about the reading...