Ernest Hilbert in Conversation at the Rosenbach
I have been invited to talk a bit about my essay “Austen’s Ring and Shelley’s Heart: Our Fascination with Literary Relics.” I'll discuss rare book collectors and their attraction to objects once owned… Read More
Ernest Hilbert Reviews Michael Dirda’s Browsings: A Year of Reading, Collecting, and Living with Books
My review of Michael Dirda's latest book, Browsings: A Year of Reading, Collecting, and Living with Books appears in the new issue of The Hopkins Review, Summer 2017, New Series 10.3, along… Read More
“Campo Santo” by Ernest Hilbert
Connotation Press: An Online Artifact exists to publish and promote the finest art and artists available, and to provide a place for a wide variety of art to flourish. From the printed… Read More
Ernest Hilbert Reviews Willard Spiegelman’s Senior Moments: Looking Back, Looking Ahead
My review of Willard Spiegelman's latest collection of essays, Senior Moments: Looking Back, Looking Ahead, appears in the new issue of Hopkins Review, Volume 10, Number 2, Spring 2017, alongside poems by… Read More
Ernest Hilbert in the Washington Post
My review of Abigail Williams' new book, The Social Life of Books: Reading Together in the Eighteenth-Century Home, appears in the Sunday, July 16th issue of The Washington Post newspaper. I was surprised… Read More
Ernest Hilbert Interviewed by a Professional Investigator for the Schuylkill Valley Journal
Poets are sometimes sought for interviews, perhaps not as zealously as are pop stars and politicians, but, still, it happens. I've been interviewed on a number of occasions, a few times on… Read More
“House and Home” by Ernest Hilbert
Connotation Press: An Online Artifact exists to publish and promote the finest art and artists available, and to provide a place for a wide variety of art to flourish. From the printed… Read More
“Independence Day” by Ernest Hilbert
The Yale Review traces its history back to 1819, when a group of Yale faculty members started a quarterly journal then known as The Christian Spectator. It was later renamed The New… Read More
Venue Change: Ernest and Ian Hilbert at Toast Cafe, 1201 Spruce Street
I'll be reading upstairs at Fergie's Pub at 7PM on Wednesday, June 21st with Laura Spagnoli and David Moolton (and their children) for a Moonstone Arts evening dedicated to poetry about life… Read More
“Pornosophical Philotheology!” Hilbert Reads from the “Circe” Chapter of James Joyce’s Ulysses for the Rosenbach Musem & Library’s Annual Bloomsday
“There is a flower that bloometh . . .” Hey, Philly, I’ll be reading from the “Circe” chapter of James Joyce’s Ulysses for the Rosenbach Musem & Library’s Annual Bloomsday, Friday, June… Read More
Ernest Hilbert Reads with Austin Allen at Otto’s Shrunken Head
Come on out for a lazy Sunday afternoon Zombie, beer, or coffee and some new poetry at Otto's Shrunken Head, declared one of New York City's best venues for poetry. … Read More
King Diamond Drummer Seen Wearing Ernest Hilbert’s Caligulan Tee Shirt
When King Diamond drummer Matt Thompson isn’t touring the world performing for thousands of screaming fans, he relaxes by reading Ernest Hilbert’s book Caligulan. He’s even been seen wearing the Caligulan tour… Read More
Ernest Hilbert’s Book Caligulan Selected as Winner of the 2017 Poets’ Prize
We are pleased to announce that Ernest Hilbert's book Caligulan has been selected as winner of the 2017 Poets' Prize.… Read More
Literary Matters Reviews Ernest Hilbert’s Book Caligulan
Literary Matters is the online journal of the Association of Literary Scholars, Critics, and Writers. Issue 9.2 includes a comprehensive review of Ernest Hilbert’s third book, Caligulan, by critic Robert Archambeau: “Little… Read More
Ernest Hilbert Reads in DC for “Lunch Poems: Readings from The Hopkins Review”
Lunch Poems: Readings from The Hopkins Review Featuring Ernest Hilbert, Helena Chung, Natalie Shapero, Erica Dawson, and Mark Halliday The Loft @ Busboys and Poets 5th & K Streets 1025 5th Street… Read More
“The Muse and the Auctioneer’s Gavel: Learning About Poetry from First Editions” by Ernest Hilbert
The editors at Plume magazine in Canada asked me to supply a short piece on first editions of famous works of poetry for their Essays and Comment section. … Read More
“Two Portraits” by Ernest Hilbert in the Southwest Review
My poem "Two Portraits" appears in the new issue of the Southwest Review alongside poems by Denise Duhamel, A.M. Juster, Mary Jo Salter, Gerard Malanga, and others.… Read More
Books Read or Reread by Ernest Hilbert in 2016
One thing I’ve learned about fatherhood is that the number of books one will have time to read in a given year plummets precipitously. Nonetheless, I managed a few. George Saintsbury,… Read More
“An honest volume for dishonest times”: Caligulan as Not-Half-Bad Christmas Present
I'd be remiss if I didn't make at least a small seasonal push for my latest book Caligulan.… Read More
Ernest Hilbert Reviews Donald Hall’s Selected Poems in the Hopkins Review
"To write something as good as the poems that originally brought you to love the art. It’s the only sensible reason for writing poems,” Donald Hall declared in his early sixties in… Read More
Ernest Hilbert with Dawn Manning and Luke Stromberg at the Pen and Pencil Club
Since the birth of our son Ian in December, I haven't managed to get out to do very many readings. In fact, I've only managed two, the Hoboken Historical Museum and Colorado… Read More
“Poem Begun on the Autumn Equinox” by Ernest Hilbert
"The American lyric rendered in these poems follows Coleridge’s description of the sonnet as 'adapted to the state of a man violently agitated by a real passion.' Hilbert’s passion here is… Read More
Susan Spear’s Opera The Price of Pomegranates, Now with Video!
Poet and librettist Susan Spear studied with me in 2012, when I began teaching a course on the practical art of the opera libretto for the Western MFA poetry concentration. She began… Read More
Ernest Hilbert Bowdlerized at Long Last!
Until now, my poems have appeared whole or in parts, but not intentionally altered. At last, I am proud to have been slightly bowdlerized! … Read More
The Tiny Viking Drinking Horn of Ernest Hilbert the Rooster!
As noted here in years past, there is, in fact, a venerable warlord rooster named Ernest Hilbert, who keeps watch over his realm and his harem in Massachusetts. He was named for… Read More
“My Father’s Dante” by Ernest Hilbert
"Ernest Hilbert is known for the sonnet, and rightfully so. In Caligulan, he doesn’t so much break free of that but makes it clear that whatever he does, whether with subject, verse… Read More
“Light Illumined” by Ernest Hilbert
"As anti-pastoral as Hilbert can be, he shares Robert Frost’s commitment to describing impressions as precisely as possible, which may offer, as it did Robert Frost, a 'momentary stay against confusion,' even… Read More
“Kite” by Ernest Hilbert Scored for Voice and Cello by Christopher LaRosa
Follow along with the score as you listen to Chris LaRosa's setting of my poem "Kite" for voice and cello, featured on ContemporaryCompositionXX's youtube channel, performed by Rachel Mikol and Will Rowe,… Read More
“From the Balcony on Heavy Metal Tribute Night at the Trocadero” by Ernest Hilbert
"Per Contra began publication as an online quarterly in the fall of 2005. Our name indicates our intention to offer more than one way of looking at the world. You can… Read More
Ernest Hilbert and Stella Sung’s New Opera, The Book Collector, to Premiere Friday, May 20th
My second opera with composer Stella Sung, The Book Collector, will be performed by the Dayton Opera on Friday, May 20th, with a matinee on Sunday May 22nd. The opera incorporates physical… Read More