From Emory…

Former United States Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize-winner Rita Dove will deliver the keynote address at the University’s 168th commencement ceremony Monday, May 13. She also will receive an honorary doctor of letters degree.

Dove is currently the Commonwealth Professor of English at the University of Virginia. She served as Poet Laureate of the United States and Consultant to the Library of Congress from 1993 to 1995, and as Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2004 to 2006. A major figure in American and African American literature, Dove is known for her interdisciplinary approach and her collaborative ventures with composers, musicians and other artists.

Here’s a great little snippet from a discussion Ms. Dove participated in back in 2011 ruminating on the purpose and pleasure of line breaks in a poem…

The one thing that I find that poetry does that no other written art form can really do is that it can use the visual and use the oral to orchestrate our breathing, so that it becomes an extremely physical act to read a poem: aloud or to yourself, if you’re really into it.

Sharon mentioned the turning of the line—every time you hit that white space with the tendrils—you know you’re going to go back, and you take a little breath, or you try to catch one, because you don’t know what’s coming.

Every time you go back, it’s with a sense of relief, snapping back, but knowing that you’re going to out there into the abyss. So there’s that oral sense, but there’s also: How long can you hold your breath? How long can you breathe?

Mollie writes in…

My name is Mollie-Emma O’Neil and I am a senior at Decatur High School.  Every year, seniors and required to create and finish an independent project focused on the growth of the community. I’m hosting a flea market for the community of Decatur and all the proceeds go towards the Decatur Cooperative Ministry’s Transitional Homes and Hagar House to help the less fortunate in our community. I’m trying to rally the Decatur community to help the people of this community, and I was hoping to get Decatur Metro’s help. I need donations for my flea market. Donations can be anything from kitchen supplies, books, exercise equipment, electronics, furniture, everything is helpful!

The flea market will be February 23rd at Oakhurst Methodist, beside the Dollar General, from 7:30 am to 12p.  I will be accepting donations on Friday the 22nd form 4 pm to around 8, but I understand that some people probably cannot bring their donations by at that time, so if people would like to contact us ahead of time, we can come by and pick up donations. Our contact info is: DecaturFleaMarket@gmail.com

• Two women robbed on Ponce Place [Patch]
• Ponce losing lanes between Boulvevard/Monroe &Freedom Parkway to accommodate bike lanes [Patch]
• The Old Decatur Theater circa 1942 [GSU]
• Tucker artist paints Walmart interiors [Atlanta Art Blog]
• It’s going to pour this afternoon [AJC]
• Atlanta Streets Alive gets $50,000 from city [Fresh Loaf]
• Amtrak only serves certain parts of U.S. [Atlantic Cities]

Amtrak map courtesy of Mulad via Flickr

From this morning’s AJC…

Georgia’s pre-kindergarten program will get a turn in the national spotlight this week when President Barack Obama uses Decatur as a backdrop to promote an education initiative to give low-income preschoolers an earlier start on their schooling.

…Georgia is a fitting place for the announcement as the state was considered far ahead of its time two decades ago when it used lottery funds to launch a statewide pre-kindergarten program. In recent years, though, flattening lottery revenues and increasing enrollment have forced the state to reduce pre-kindergarten schedules and increase class sizes.

…Details of Obama’s Thursday visit haven’t been released, but he’s expected to visit pre-kindergarten students at College Heights and swing by the Decatur Recreation Center. Courtney Burnett, the Decatur school system’s legislative liaison, said employees are scurrying to prepare for Obama’s arrival.

Lots more in this feature article on the AJC’s website, so check it out!