http://www.i-newswire.com/in-the-cosmic-purr-classical-poet/182294
 
Determined to bring the magic of poetry to life for a broader and younger audience, Poet and Classics PhD Aaron Poochigian has written a new book, The Cosmic Purr.

My home state gets my Meriwether Lewis poems, bless it.  The North Dakota Humanities Council featured my poem "Meriwether Lewis at the Great Falls" along with a gorgeous painting of the same title by cowboy artiste Charles Fritz:
 
http://ndhumanities.blogspot.com/2012/05/captain-meriwether-lewis-and-great.html
 
Captain Meriwether Lewis and the Great Falls
 
I was the one, the first white man, to shiver
into the wind of it--a rush so grand

Charles Martin says in the forward that he found Poochigian's use of direct address refreshing, and I have to agree. I did enjoy feeling included in the poetry. But I also enjoyed the surprising variety of subject matter he covers in his poems- he talked about everything from plumbing to Medusa.

Classical Training Invigorates Deeply Emotional Poetry
 
Reviewer: Judy Katz
 
Format: Paperback
 

I did a radio interview with KMSU's "Weekly Reader" yesterday. Here's a link to the podcast: http://kmsuweeklyreader.libsyn.com/webpage/aaron-poochigian . The show will air tomorrow. I love that the interviewer asked me to read a number my poems for him. "The Cosmic Purr" is rockin' the airwaves--resonance with resonance.

Here are some upcoming readings:

Wednesday, June 6th, for the West Chester Poetry Conference (West Chester, PA)
Friday, June 29th, 7pm at the KGB Bar (NY, NY)
 

I took no offense that this British author and blogger claims Poochigian sounds “like a superhero poodle.” And I was proud that someone who is “not normally a poetry guy” would write: “it’s nice to find some poetry I actually quite enjoy. Like I said, we’ve lost a lot of Sappho, and if what we’ve got left of her is any indication, it’s a pretty tragic loss.”
 
Here's a link to the post I include below: http://iansbookpile.wordpress.com/tag/sappho/
 

A very pleasant acquaintance, Madge McKeithen, a poet (and prof at the New School), sums up our conversation about Philip Larkin in her on-going Best American Poetry blog (http://www.madgemckeithen.com/new-york/on-going/):
 

I received a letter today from Richard Wilbur, the greatest living poet in the English language. I was flattered straight off because he took the time to send one (when I am 93, will I respond to mail?  Will I be alive to respond to mail?).  I was even more flattered that he found my beloved "The Cosmic Purr" "classy and full of life" and took "a non-proprietary delight in the stanzas of 'Kudzu,'" which is, among many things, an homage to his "Thyme flowering among rocks."
 
Here, my friends, is
 
Kudzu: An Immigrant's Tale:
 

Ms. Paulette Tobin asked me great questions about my Aratus and my work in general:
http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/233023/group/homepage/
Published March 25, 2012, 11:22 PM 
Grand Forks native, Writers Conference author writes poetry, translates from ancient Greek and Latin

Here is an interview with Aaron Poochigian about "The Cosmic Purr" and his upcoming reading at the UND Writers Conference: http://hpr1.com/feature/article/a_conversation_with_aaron_poochigian/