Sunrise over Boulder is truly poetry. Deservedly famous poet John Donne, in his poem on sunrise, includes the following: A famous poem that beautifully captures the essence of sunrise is “The Sun Rising” by John Donne. This poem is a metaphysical poem where Donne addresses the sun directly, using it as a symbol to explore themes of love and the passage of time. Here’s an excerpt to give you a sense of its imagery and tone: “Busy old fool, unruly Sun, Why dost thou thus, Through windows, and through curtains, call on us? Must to thy motions lovers’ seasons run? Saucy... Read More

Watch out online retailers: you can’t beat this brick and mortar bookstore. Open since 1973, this three-story powerhouse is a Pearl Street Mall staple and neighborhood icon. The minimalist exterior (the sign outside the store is a testament to directness: written in chunky caps, the word “BOOKSTORE,” hovers above black gridded windows) differs from the garish, if somewhat outlandish interior. For one, the bookstore is enormous; it boasts three fully-stocked stories of books, videos, and gadgets, with each floor offering a different layout and atmosphere. “The Ballroom,” Photo... Read More

Meet Lily Duffy: Poet, editor, and life of the party. I remember, years ago, hearing Lily read a poem about a blind date at a red-themed restaurant. The interior was painted red, its patrons wearing red, and even the food: red. Sometimes, when I’m driving to and from various obligations, I hear her words, unexpectedly, and there they ruminate like setting your favorite jam to play on repeat. And like all great jams, the playfulness on the surface of the song invites us to leap, headfirst, into its undercurrent looking for the subtext of the melody. Red: the color of love, but also the color... Read More

Gillian Cummings is the Author of The Owl was a Baker’s Daughter, winner of the 2018 Colorado Prize for Poetry selected by John Yau, forthcoming this November from The Center for Literary Publishing at Colorado State University. I reached out to Gillian Cummings directly regarding her success, and she enthusiastically consented to an interview. About The Owl Was a Baker’s Daughter: The title The Owl was a Baker’s Daughter originates from a line spoken by Shakespeare’s Ophelia in Hamlet whose grief and guilt at which point have overwhelmed her into a sort of psychosis. The Owl was a... Read More

Today I’d like to introduce you to the work of Nate Ragolia. Nate graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 2004 with a degree in Creative Writing, and since then he’s been quite busy creating new stories, comics, and editing an online journal. Of course I’m only naming a few of the many artistic hats Nate wears everyday. In 2015, Black Hills Press published Nate’s first collection of short stories, There You Feel Free, about young people (one could say hipsters) battling disillusionment, ultimately finding love and themselves. The stories all meet and converge through a contemporary... Read More

Ghost Of is Diana Khoi Nguyen’s remarkable award-winning poetry debut; this collection is an extensive, jarring rumination on the loss by suicide of her younger brother — the ghost and principal muse of the work. Nguyen’s voice is augmented by family photographs which combine with her poetry to produce innovative multi-media forms; these give a deconstructed dimensionality to her tender lamentations. The result is nothing short of ingenious and sincere vulnerability, a portal into deeply personal histories. Diana Khoi Nguyen’s work is assuredly appreciating a much larger audience thanks... Read More

Welcome to AboutBoulder.com’s new artist’s blog where each week I’ll use this space to feature one of the many artists, writers, and/or musicians that are shaking things up around Boulder. From the mountains to the plains, Boulder is a haven of creativity. And it’s not just the greenery and mountains in our backyards that ignite this creative energy alone, but also the coffee shops, bookstore, organizations, and public spaces around town that help amplify creative talents. It’s no secret that the Boulder arts community is forever indebted to the generosity and support of Brian Buckley... Read More

Because books are good, I walked into Red Letter Books on Pearl and met Seth, the owner.  A CU grad and a Colorado native (right?!), from Loveland, he has lived in Boulder this time around since 1995. Seth is a second generation bookseller, his father owned a bookstore in Fort Collins. Seth took over from the original owner  of Red Letter a few years ago. He owned his own shop before then, but jumped at the chance to own a 25 year established store. It was great to speak to someone who has  been here and has experienced the changes in Boulder over the last 17 years. As you can imagine, there... Read More

On Monday, April 6, the CU Creative Writing Association with support from the CU Cultural Event Board and the CU English Department collaborated to put on a reading and panel featuring three talented and inspirational poets. The show was titled Code Switching and Recoding Language, in which the three presenters spoke powerful words and shared  images that depicted the struggles that people who break the societal binaries face. These performers highlighted the various issues of oppression that stem from the lack of acceptance, expressed stereotypes and general lack of knowledge and education that... Read More

This blog normally talks about concerts that are coming up, albums that should be checked out and listened to multiple times, as well as my passionate interest in the culture of Hip Hop. This time slot is also, however, an entertainment blog and so I would like to do something different yet again with this article entry tonight and try to entertain you. Well, entertain you but also make you think and maybe gain some perspective you may not know but will certainly plant some kind of seeds that grow and give you new thoughts to ponder on. I have been writing for most of my life, and I have been writing... Read More