Adventures with Poem in Your Pocket

Christmas miracles do occur!

Or maybe Santa reads my blog...

Either way, I am now the delighted owner of Poem in Your Pocket, an awesome collection of poems to tear and share.

I began my tearing and sharing of poetry by leaving this poem:

 

Grown-Up

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Was it for this I uttered prayers,

And sobbed and cursed and kicked the stairs,

That now, domestic as a plate,

I should retire at half-past eight?

On this shelf, in an undisclosed location.

I left a note on the back of the poem with an email address, requesting the favorite poem of whomever should find it. And hopefully, I will someday hear back.

This poetry tearing and sharing is quite thrilling.

On the To-Read Shelf

Starting this post, I have no set agenda, just the mood to blog about poetry.

Currently I'm reading a poetry anthology called Enduring Ties, edited by Grant Hardy. Okay it could be that Grant Hardy gave me the book and I think very highly of Grant Hardy, but I must say I am loving the anthology. It is a collection of "poems of family relationships." Poetry about family usually gets a bad rap for being overly sentimental, but Hardy has put together a solid collection, far from gushy Hallmark sentiments. It includes work by the poets Whitman, Bronte, Blake, Plath, Milton, Shakespeare, and Dickinson, just name a few, even one by quirky favorites of mine, James Tate (!). The work also includes a substantial amount of translations of Chinese poetry, which is kind of new to me, and I like it. The organization, notes, and biographical tidbits are terrific. My only suggestion would be a new title, a revamped cover, and an emphasis on the gems this work has to offer.

And, its not poetry, but I've just began The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton. Thus far, I love the wit, satire, and humor of the work.

I was also reading (and loving) James Tate's newest, The Ghost Soldiers, but a necessary return to the library cut my pleasure short. Still, I recommend it to you, dear reader.

My long list of what to read doesn't include much poetry, but here's a sample of what it does include: Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand; Fountainhead, Ayn Rand; Selected Poems 1934-1952, Dylan Thomas;  1984, George Orwell; The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams; Boy's Life, Robert C. McCammon, all Jane Austen novels; Jesus the Christ, James E. Talmage; and a work of Dickens.

I promise though, poetry will wind up in the mix. It always does. I owe you a posting of an awesome poem. I'll give you one soon. I'd also like to share with you more Performance Poetry, as well as some great YouTube videos.

I'm curious for any opinions on the works on my list, particularly those of Ayn Rand and Dylan Thomas. And, any suggestions of what to add to my ever growing long to-read list?

You've Just Got to Hear This

This you've got to hear.

Click here for an audio clip of Jared Singer performing his poem, "When Contemplating Super Powers (The Letter to Sarah)."

Click here for the Performance Poetry website, where you can find more fabulous poetry.

Amazing, wouldn't you agree?

When I am Suddenly Wealthy

When I am suddenly a very, very wealthy woman, here are just a few (a very small few) the poetry books I'd like to own:

•  Poem in Your Pocket: 200 Poems to Read and Carry, The Academy of American Poets. This nifty little collection is poems to tear out, and just as the title suggest, read and carry. There is something immensely appealing to me about this whole idea.

 

• Seven Poets, Four Days, One Book, multiple authors. Another quirky idea for a poetry book! I'm just going to copy Amazon's little blurb to explain the idea behind the project. I think you'll agree, it sounds pretty awesome.

Lauded poet Christopher Merrill hatched a brilliant plan: invite six other poets to join him in four days of writing in Iowa City. The poets would write for 30 minutes, creating a poem of 15 lines, and then read it aloud to the group. As poets heard the poems, they noted memorable words, images, and lines, which they would borrow to insert in subsequent poems of their own. These rounds continued, until, in a process of call and response and unprecedented collaboration, 80 poems had been composed. Those 80 poems are collected in this book, penned by authors who represent some of the best and brightest the world of poetry has to offer. Transcending differences of generation, gender, language, and vision, these poets have invented an entirely new facet of the poet's creative process.

~ Amazon product description

• Richard Brautigan poetry.  I am hoping to find a book of his in a moment of sweet serendipity in a used book shop or receive in some quirky fashion. It would be too easy to simply order off of Amazon.

What's on your list?

You're Wondering If I'm Lonely

For months, Adrienne Rich's The Fact of a Doorframe has been sitting on my shelf, waiting until it was time to study Rich in my Modern Poetry class. I skimmed the book once or twice and decide Rich is not for me. Well, the time has come to study Adrienne Rich, and I have to say I was sorely mistaken that Rich is not for me. Her work is something impressive! I love her charged her imagery is, how passionate her passages can be, and how bold the body of work is.  

This is the young Adrienne Rich.

You most often see images of her in her later years, but I think

I can relate with this younger woman better.

Image found at http://poetry4u.net

The fact of a Doorframe is a good introduction to Rich, as it presents poetry spanning half a century from a dozen different books. It is interesting to see her work progress as the reader moves chronologically through the segments of each book.

I have not read enough to give a comprehensive recommendation, but tonight, I'd like to offer just one, "Song." I had to read through that final stanza a few times, trying to wrap my mind around the imagery presented. Please, I beg of you, try reading this poem out loud.

"Song"
Adrienne Rich

You're wondering if I'm lonely:
OK then, yes, I'm lonely
as a plane rides lonely and level
on its radio beam, aiming
across the Rockies
for the blue-strung aisles
of an airfield on the ocean.

You want to ask, am I lonely?
Well, of course, lonely
as a woman driving across country
day after day, leaving behind
mile after mile
little towns she might have stopped
and lived and died in, lonely

If I'm lonely
it must be the loneliness
of waking first, of breathing
dawn's first cold breath on the city
of being the one awake
in a house wrapped in sleep

If I'm lonely
it's with the rowboat ice-fast on the shore
in the last red light of the year
that knows what it is, that knows it's neither
ice nor mud nor winter light
but wood, with a gift for burning.

Brautigan, Again

Tonight, trying to find which Brautigan poem I wanted to share, I stumbled on a gold mine. Brautigan Bibliography and Archive is an awesome resource I have only begun to touch.

Below is a nibble of Brautigan. Also, check out other poems of Brautigan I've posted in the past. If you like what you see, check out the above posted website.

"Alas, Measured Perfectly"

Richard Brautigan

Saturday, August 25, 1888. 5:20 P.M.
is the name of a photograph of two
old women in a front yard, beside
a white house. One of the women is
sitting in a chair with a dog in her
lap. The other woman is looking at
some flowers. Perhaps the women are
happy, but then it is Saturday, August
25, 1888. 5:21 P.M., and all over.

Click here to listen to recordings of Brautigan reading his poetry. Scroll towards the end until you reach Side 1, number 6 to listen this particular poem in a collection with others. Brautigan doesn't sound at all like he thought I did. Also, the recording is slightly distorted, but still, how incredible is it to hear the words of the poet from the poet himself?


Brautigan's work is almost entirely out of print. However, cheap used copies are available on Amazon. When I get a little extra cash, I think it would be a very worthy investment for my library. I've gone through a love/hate relationship with Brautigan, but now I must simply consent to love.

P.S. This is my 99th post! 9 being my eternally lucky number, this is a particularly good day!

Apologies Dear Reader

Sorry to be neglectful of this dear little blog.

I have just been having so much fun with a new project,

365 Days of Twenty.

Please, check it out. Hope you enjoy.

But alas, don't worry. I am still an avid poetry lover.

What am I reading these days? Well, in a class I'm taking I've been examining the works of Elizabeth Bishop, Adrienne Rich, Wallace Stevens, and William Carlos Williams.

But, these last couple nights, I've been feeling a little blue and I can't help but turn to old favorites, particularly Edna St. Vincent Millay and Richard Brautigan.

Who are your particular favorites? And what are you reading these days?

Forgive me, its a quarter to two in the morning, but I promise to share poetry soon. Tomorrow? Its a deal.

Bright Star

Hey poetry lovers, I think you'll enjoy this beautiful new film, detailing the love story of the poet John Keats and his "bright star," Fanny Brawne.

What a breathtaking story of poetic romance.
Watch. Weep. Love.

Wing by Wing

We have recently begun to study William Carlos Williams in Modern Poetry. I think he is a poet I shall quite enjoy. Rather than offering a deep interpretation of his work, tonight I simply offer a bit of Williams for you to enjoy.

Aux Imagistes

William Carlos Williams

I think I have never been so exalted
As I am now by you,
O frost bitten blossoms,
That are unfolding your wings
From out the envious black branches.

Bloom quickly and make much of the sunshine
The twigs conspire against you
Hear them!
They hold you from behind

You shall not take wing
Except wing by wing, brokenly,
And yet—
Even they
Shall not endure for ever.

Photo by: Valerie Owens

Poetry 180

Last year, Santa Claus, or maybe my mother gave me the terrific gift of a book entitled, Poetry 180. This book is actually a printing of a fabulous project also called Poetry 180 which offers a poem a day for American high school students. The project is the work of Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate of the United States. Collins started the project in hopes of creating a turning back, a 180, if you will, to poetry, an art so often forgotten in these days. For more about the project, click here.

Today, I'd like to post just one of the poems of Poetry 180. The poem is by Ted Kooser, whose project American Life in Poetry, I highlighted in my last post. Hopefully, by highlighting a few of the phenomenal poetry projects out there, I can perhaps encourage a few more people into incorporating poetry into their daily lives. Also, its a good example of just what the Poet Laureate of the United States actually does. We live at an age where poetry is perhaps more accessible that it has ever been. Why not take advantage of it?

Selecting a Reader

Ted Kooser

First, I would have her be beautiful,
and walking carefully up on my poetry
at the loneliest moment of an afternoon,
her hair still damp at the neck
from washing it. She should be wearing
a raincoat, an old one, dirty
from not having money enough for the cleaners.
She will take out her glasses, and there
in the bookstore, she will thumb
over my poems, then put the book back
up on its shelf. She will say to herself,
"For that kind of money, I can get
my raincoat cleaned." And she will.

from Sure Signs, 1980
University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, Pa.