poems – Kendall Dunkelberg

Welty Symposium Recap

A few thoughts and pictures from the 37th annual Eudora Welty Writers’ Symposium.

Thanks, Tennessee Williams: on the importance of blogging

Finding an old post about the Tennessee Williams Tribute, leads me to a realization about the value of blogging (or journaling).

How to Read a Book of Poems

Several times at readings for Tree Fall with Birdsong, the question has come up: Is there a right way to read a poetry book? Here is my answer.

It’s hard to imagine a better week than one where you get to talk poetry every morning for about an hour, but maybe doing that with morning coffee from the comfort of your own home would qualify as better. This week has been like that for me, as I’ve been working on an interview aboutContinue reading “A Week of Poetry Talk”

A Few Book & Poetry Notes

Notes on readings, events, bookstores, and a new poem.

Happy Pub Day, Part 2

To celebrate the official release of Tree Fall with Birdsong, I want to take a moment to look back with my readers on how this book came to be.

Four Poems Newly Online

Four of my poems are newly available online through Birmingham Poetry Review.

The Meaning of Rejection

Submittable calls it “Decline.” I like to refer to it as “Returned” when my manuscripts come back to me, which they still do more often than not. As an editor for Poetry South and a frequent submitter to many magazines, I have a complicated relationship with rejection. On the one hand, I have a toughContinue reading “The Meaning of Rejection”

How Do You Know When You’ve Written a Poem? — A Dream Answer

In a dream last night, I was at an event aswering questions, and someone asked, “How do you know when you’ve written a poem?” I had a pretty good answer, or at least so it seemed in the dream. So let’s see how much I can remember here. The first part of my answer wasContinue reading “How Do You Know When You’ve Written a Poem? — A Dream Answer”

February Wrap-Up

February has been a busy, busy month. Even with the extra day that leap year afforded, it seemed to go faster than ever. At Mississippi University for Women, our year began with the announcement of a new name: a name that went over like a lead balloon. So February started with a scramble to comeContinue reading “February Wrap-Up”