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In celebration of National Poetry Month, Penguin Group's Diversity Committee held a poetry contest. The winner by unanimous vote is "ALLEN GINSBERG SIGHTING, 1988" by Jeffrey Freiert, Copywriter in Berkeley's editorial department.

ALLEN GINSBERG SIGHTING, 1988

One of the best minds of an older generation
sat in the Kiev, that East Village diner

not starving, hysterical, or naked
but clothed, calm, and eating babka.

From the street we peered through the glass
to watch the bald, bearded poet nosh.

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To wrap up our celebration of National Poetry Month we've listed the ten great poems we shared in April via our Twitter Feed (ordered newest to oldest)!

1. "Spleen" by Arthur Symons from the Penguin Classics book DECADENT POETRY
   
   Listen: http://song.ly/4ajo


2. "Untitled poem" by Filipino poet Jose Garcia Villa from the Penguin Classics DOVEGLION: COLLECTED POEMS
   
   Listen: http://song.ly/3tyh


3. "At the Window" by American poet T.S. Eliot from the Penguin Classics THE WASTE LAND AND OTHER POEMS
   
   Listen: http://song.ly/3jic

» Rickey Minor discusses his book, which takes an inspirational look at how you can go the extra mile and includes stories from his work on American Idol.

» Read more about There's No Traffic on the Extra Mile.

Rickey Minor, There's No Traffic on the Extra Mile, Podcast

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 I was thinking about food this morning...and what to blog about, when, by divine intervention, the idea was handed to me in the form of a Sunday morning magazine program.

 A friend called me, screaming, "Turn on the T.V. There's a vegan firefighter!!!!" Ah, I thought to myself, more press for the brilliant Rip Esselstyn, former athlete turned firefighter who changed the lives and health of his fellow firefighters at their engine house in Austin, TX. When he saw the declining health of these true heroes, he knew he had to do something, so he developed a 28-day plan designed to melt fat, lower cholesterol and prevent many of the lifestyle illnesses that plague so many Americans. His plan was so effective for his fellow firefighters, that he developed the ‘Engine 2 Diet' cookbook.

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The New York Times Bestseller Highlights for the Week of May 3rd 

Four new debuts on The New York Times bestseller list for the week of May 3rd: Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs (Berkley) hits at #15 on the trade fiction paperback list; The Third Circle by Amanda Quick (Jove) is #19 on the mass market list; Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut (Berkely) debuts at #19 on the paperback nonfiction list; and If I Stay by Gayle Forman (Dutton) is #7 on the children's chapter books list.

Here are more New York Times bestseller highlights:

On the hardcover fiction list, Turn Coat by Jim Butcher (Roc) is #3 in its second week; Long Lost by Harlan Coben (Dutton) is #4 in its third week; and The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Amy Einhorn/ Putnam) returns to the list at #14 in its fourth week.

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Christine Feehan Delivers Two Special eBooks: The Awakening and Dark Hunger

Penguin eBooks now have two of #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan's most beloved worlds available for download. As her fans await Burning Wild (Jove, on sale April 28), they can revisit the origins of the exotic race she created in The Awakening, the novella that originally introduced the Dangerous World of the Leopard People. Simultaneously, Penguin eBooks is releasing Dark Hunger as a manga eBook for the first time. Dark Hunger, part of Feehan’s most popular series, features the Carpathians, an exotic and shapeshifting race whose passionate stories leave readers begging for more. Dark Slayer (Berkley), the next hardcover novel in the Dark Series, will be available in September 2009.

New on the Penguin Website

Find the perfect books to share with the women in your life this Mother’s Day, May 10th. Click here to peruse our gift guide.

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Penguin Young Readers Author/Illustrator Steve Breen Wins Second Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning 

Steve Breen, the author/illustrator of Violet the Pilot (Dial Books for Young Readers) and Stick (Puffin), has won his second Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning for his work with the San Diego Union-Tribune. Breen first won the prize in 1998 when he worked at the Asbury Park Press and is only the twelfth person ever to win the Pulitzer for Editorial Cartooning more than once.

The Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning has been awarded since 1922 for a distinguished cartoon or portfolio of cartoons published during the year, characterized by originality, editorial effectiveness, quality of drawing, and pictorial effect. Stick was reissued in paperback this month, and Breen’s newest picture book, The Secret of Santa’s Island (Dial Books for Young Readers), will be released in October 2009.

View some of Breen’s illustrations from inside Stick and inside Violet the Pilot.

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Penguin Group is the Premier Sponsor of the 2009 PEN World Voices Festival

Penguin Group is the premier sponsor of the 2009 PEN World Voices Festival, taking place next week, April 27th – May 3rd, 2009 in New York City. The festival is the largest celebration of international literature ever produced in the United States. Each year, the PEN America Center brings more than 100 authors to New York for approximately 70 events all around the city in an effort to promote international literature and to address American cultural insularity.

This year, Penguin Group has fifteen authors who are scheduled to participate: Paul Auster, Sebastian Barry, Ian Buruma, Joseph Boyden, Niall Ferguson, Philip Gourevitch, Jessica Hagedorn, A.M. Homes, Marlon James, Mark Kurlansky, Nick Laird, Walter Mosley, Jeffrey Sachs and Anya Ulinich.

To view the complete schedule of events, most of which are free and open to the public, click here.

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Viking Acquires Memoir by Jordan's King Abdullah II

Viking has acquired rights to King Abdullah II of Jordan’s memoir, The Last Best Chance: An Intimate Account of the Pursuit of Peace in a Time of Peril. It is almost unprecedented for a sitting monarch to pen a memoir that gives a full and frank reckoning with the most explosive issues he faces. King Abdullah II does this now out of a sense of great urgency, a conviction that a window of opportunity now exists for peace in the region, coupled with a fear that this window is closing rapidly. For ten years, King Abdullah II has ruled Jordan, a country at the center of strategic discussion regarding Israel and Palestine, Iraq, Iran, terrorism, and the future of relations between East and the West. Underlining the importance of Jordan’s role, President Barack Obama invited King Abdullah II to be the first Arab leader to meet at the White House during his administration.

The book will be a personal narrative rich with human drama. It is the inspirational story of a man who is suddenly called upon to serve his Kingdom, and makes his bride its Queen. It is a view of the central global crises of our time, from someone with the power and insight to lead the region forward into a brighter future. Through it all, King Abdullah II has been not just a wise observer but an active participant in major events—fighting terrorism, struggling for peace, and leading the effort to make his country an enlightened model for the region.

The memoir will be edited by Joy de Menil, Executive Editor at Viking, and is scheduled for publication in May 2010.
 

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Pound cake is not the first treat that comes to most people's minds when their sweet tooth starts calling out, probably because most pound cakes are bland in flavor, dense without being rich or just plain bad. But for my English, sweets loving husband, pound cake, specifically a lemon pound cake, is a revelation. He thinks it's perfect with afternoon tea (of course), after dinner with berries and ice cream, even for breakfast (I told you he has a sweet tooth).
 
Lemon pound cakes make my husband happy and since they are easy to make (and because I love the way his eyes light up upon smelling one when he walks in the door) I make them more than any other treat or, puddings, as he calls desserts. Last week I didn't have lemons around and instead used some limes and the result was just as delicious. So, here's my favorite lemon (or lime) pound cake recipe, one I adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible. The method may seem a bit counter intuitive at first (there's no creaming of the butter and sugar) but the result is a tender, delicious lemon pound cake.