⇒We weren’t the only website to notice David Orr‘s critique of Dana Goodyear‘s dispatch the contemporary poetry scene, not by a long shot. Of course, because it touched upon the New Yorker, Emily Gordon of Emdashes.com was quick to comment, with a mild rebuke of Orr and links to much stronger criticism along with some enthusiastic support. Gawker picked up on the “subtle, civil, but still intensely satisfying score-settling,” then brought in recurring guest star Mike Albo to poke fun at New Yorker poetry. And Rachel Sklar at Eat the Press did an effective job of defending Goodyear against some of Orr’s rhetorical tactics. And I didn’t even realize Ploughshares has a blog, but we’re on that action now for sure.
⇒PW comics correspondent Heidi MacDonald does a great job of summing up the fallout from Captain America’s death, including the problems many comics shop owners had keeping up with the increased demand for the comic book in which the superhero gets shot. Vaneta Rogers of Newsarama finds out how retailers feel about the situation, which may have been exacerbated by Marvel‘s simultaneous attempt to urge them to order the book while keeping mum about exactly why they should. “Marvel told us that we should really order high… but I’ve certainly been burned by believing the hype in the past, and the actual issue not living up to the hype,” as one owner put it, and in his own blog, shop owner Mike Sterling offers a detailed argument against Marvel’s handling of the release. Meanwhile, Chris Sims was one of many fans to remember that this isn’t the first time they’ve pronounced Cap dead, reproducing the amazing illustration of his his return to action on a rocket-powered motorcycle in the process. And the Wall Street Journal posted an obit by Jonathan V. Last, one that’s a lot savvier about comics culture than one might expect from such a buttoned-down institution.
