Rollin' Thunder: The One-Stop Poetry Shop

It seems that I am not the only one to have noticed the turn blogs have taken toward literature. I figured there had to be some poetry blogs out there, and just as I was getting around to trying to find them, along comes an email from one 'cafe rg' who operates a blog called 'Rollin' Thunder' that's essentially a clearinghouse for poetry and discussion about same.

The entries are a mix of notices ('Hire a Free Poet!'), poetry challenges, quotes (many of them about poetry: 'You can tear a poem apart to see what makes it tick... You're back with the mystery of having been moved by words. The best craftsmanship always leaves holes and gaps... so that something that is not in the poem can creep, crawl, flash or thunder in. ~Dylan Thomas'), and discussions about poetry ('Does Technology "make us" more creative?').

There are also links to other cafe rg sites like 'SplashHall Poetry", a BBS specifically for poets, and the 'Poet's Cafe', which features live poetry readings as well as chat boards, workshops, even an electronic chapbook. If I were a poet--which I'm not, I admit--this is obviously the place I'd hang out. It's like an online version of City Lights--the only thing missing is the coffee. And Ferlinghetti, of course. Otherwise, it looks lively and fun.