Meier to take Helm at KR Blog

The Kenyon Review announced yesterday that Liz Lopatto will be stepping down as editor of the publication’s very active and interesting blog in order to “focus on her new real job” in journalism.

KR editor David Lynn asked Tyler Meier to take the job. Said Lynn, “Tyler also has a long Kenyon and KR pedigree, but he’s been out in the world for a number of years now, among other things having earned an M.F.A. in creative writing.”

Meier is no stranger to the literary world. His poems have appeared in Agni, The Seattle Review, and Cranky. His chapbook manuscript, “Lovesong from a Lifeboat,” was a finalist for the 2006 GreenTower Press Chapbook Series Award. He also teaches in KR's Young Writers program each summer.

Meier is already kicking things up in his own thoughtful and witty style. I loved, for instance, his June 13th post on how Yeats can make you a better kisser. (Because we’ve all wondered about that, right?)

Here’s why Yeats is great: He can make you a better kisser.

This is what I told some creative writing students who were writing poems with me last summer, and I’m holding my ground. Try these lines out:

Who will go drive with Fergus now,
and pierce the deep wood’s woven shade

The active ingredient isn’t Fergus, it is that bottleneck run of vowels in the second line, and the reason I love reading and re-reading Yeats. If you look at yourself in the mirror when reading those lines, it looks like you are trying to swallow a cloud.

There’s more. Just as engagingly crafted and all of it -- alone -- worth the cyber trip to the KR blog.

The Kenyon Review is one of the most respected literary magazines in the United States. The blog is, quite rightfully, zooming in to take its place as KR’s equally known and respected electronic companion.