May 30, 1997
Frank Stanford
Frank Stanford is hardly a household name these days but when he died in 1978 he was probably one of the best young poets in America. A suicide at twenty-nine years old, his work — seven critically acclaimed volumes — is almost impossible to find these days, but thanks to editor Brent Long (who received permission from Ginny Stanford, Stanford's former wife and a partner on the Lost Roads project) there's a very fine tribute to him at The Frank Stanford Home Page
. It's been a labor of love for Brent Long. In the introduction to Stanford's biographical data, he says:
For the past two and a half years, I have been studying the poetry of Frank Stanford because of the effect his work has had on my own writing, and because I feel that he was perhaps one of the greatest American poets of this century. Unfortunately, very little information concerning Frank Stanford was available at the time I began my studies, and I ran across roadblock after roadblock in my pursuit. Then, approximately two months ago, I was able to come in contact with several people who had either known Frank, or had studied his life and his work. From there I got the idea to publish an electronic Web page in hopes of providing access, albeit limited, to information about Frank Stanford and to some of his work. The information found in the following biographical illustration was provided to me by several people who were close to Frank Stanford for many years, and by those who have studied his work.
The pickings are slim. There are three photographs (one of them 143K which makes for a slow load even with the best of modems) and a mere five poems. But given how little information is available about Frank Stanford, what Mr. Long has created here is nothing short of a small National Treasure. Slim pickings perhaps, but still a site I bookmarked. I have the strongest feeling Mr. Long isn't finished yet and I expect to see more information and poetry appear on these pages in the future.
Editor's Note. I was tempted to quote a section from one of Stanford's poems but, as Mr. Long points out, the poems are now the property of Ginny Stanford. I could have used a few lines under the guise of "for review purposes" but sinceBrent Long has worked so hard and so long to bring these few poems to the Web, to have done so would have been, I feel, disrespectful to his labor, the generosity of Ginny Stanford and the memory of Frank Stanford himself.
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Web del Sol
Description : Web del Sol joins the established literary scene with the up-and-coming electric one. Featuring such prestigious magazines as The Sewanee Review, Ploughshares and The Atlantic Monthly, there's also an excellent selection of writers and poets from the World Wide Web.
B.L.W.A.
Bear Life Women's Writing Advocate: In their own words "an agency that exists to help women further their writing careers" Bear Life stands out from the list of typical literary agents in that they're genuinely interested in their clients and in promoting women's writing.
A Journalist's Guide
A Journalist's Guide: Finding data on the Internet. When all else fails, start here. I can't help but feel that this page should be featured in every journalism school across the country. It's wise, witty and a treasure trove of information about, well, getting information. It's not a library but it's a very good card file.
Oxford Book of English Verse
The Oxford Book of English Verse (1250- 1900). Part of the Bartleby Project, this hefty chunk of EnglishLiterature comes with a search engine and several indices: Author(chronological and alphabetical) First Line and Title. It sounds boring but you'll be amazed at what you discover -or rediscover- here.
Lexicon
An Australian publication that pays for the best short story (AU$100.00) best poem (AU$50.00) and artwork (AU$50.00), Lexicon's home page is not much an e-zine as an advertisement for the mag. There are samples of the kinds of work they're using and U.S. writers are accepted.
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Poetry and Literature
