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| Poetry: American Life in Poetry: Column 065 |
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By Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate
Visiting a familiar and once dear place after a long absence can knock the words right out of us, and in this poem, Keith Althaus of Massachusetts observes this happening to someone else. I like the way he suggests, at the end, that it may take days before that silence heals over.
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Posted by Rose on Thursday, June 22 @ 15:51:01 EDT (552 reads)
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| Poetry: American Life in Poetry: Column 064 |
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By Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate
Storytelling binds the past and present together, and is as essential to community life as are food and shelter. Many of our poets are masters at reshaping family stories as poetry. Here Lola Haskins retells a haunting tale, cast in the voice of an elder. Like the best stories, there are no inessential details. Every word counts toward the effect.
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Posted by Rose on Thursday, June 15 @ 09:38:48 EDT (545 reads)
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| Poetry: Poetry Speaks To The Whole Family |
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By Rachael Towle
From the moment the shiny new book arrived at my doorstep, I was excited to see what this incredible creation had in store for my son and for me. From the moment I cracked open the spine, I realized it delivers more than I had hoped it would.
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Posted by Rose on Monday, June 12 @ 11:54:51 EDT (675 reads)
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| Poetry: American Life in Poetry: Column 063 |
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By Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate
Remember those Degas paintings of the ballet dancers? Here is a similar figure study, in muted color, but in this instance made of words, not pigment. As this poem by David Tucker closes, I can feel myself holding my breath as if to help the dancer hold her position.
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Posted by Rose on Thursday, June 08 @ 14:10:45 EDT (529 reads)
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| Poetry: American Life in Poetry: Column 062 |
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By Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate
Gardeners who've fought Creeping Charlie and other unwanted plants may sympathize with James McKean from Iowa as he takes on Bindweed, a cousin to the two varieties of morning glory that appear in the poem. It's an endless struggle, and in the end, of course, the bindweed wins.
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Posted by Rose on Thursday, June 01 @ 14:57:13 EDT (531 reads)
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| Poetry: American Life in Poetry: Column 061 |
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By Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate
Everywhere I travel I meet people who want to write poetry but worry that what they write won't be "any good." No one can judge the worth of a poem before it's been written, and setting high standards for yourself can keep you from writing. And if you don't write you'll miss out on the pleasure of making something from words, of seeing your thoughts on a page. Here Leslie Monsour offers a concise snapshot of a self-censoring poet.
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Posted by Rose on Thursday, May 25 @ 18:06:54 EDT (520 reads)
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| Poetry: American Life in Poetry: Column 060 |
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By Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate
Most of us have taken at least a moment or two to reflect upon what we have learned from our mothers. Through a catalog of meaningful actions that range from spiritual to domestic, Pennsylvanian Julia Kasdorf evokes the imprint of her mother's life on her own. As the poem closes, the speaker invites us to learn these actions of compassion.
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Posted by rose on Thursday, May 18 @ 23:49:28 EDT (511 reads)
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| Poetry: American Life in Poetry: Column 059 |
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By Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate
Contrary to the glamorized accounts we often read about the lives of single women, Amy Fleury, a native of Kansas, presents us with a realistic, affirmative picture. Her poem playfully presents her life as serendipitous, yet she doesn't shy away from acknowledging loneliness.
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Posted by rose on Friday, May 12 @ 13:19:34 EDT (453 reads)
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| Poetry: American Life in Poetry: Column 058 |
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By Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate
A worm in an apple, a maggot in a bone, a person in the world. What might seem an odd assortment of creatures is beautifully interrelated by the Massachusetts poet Pat Schneider. Her poem suggests that each living thing is richly awake to its own particular, limited world.
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Posted by Rose on Thursday, May 04 @ 18:47:24 EDT (1079 reads)
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| Poetry: American Life in Poetry: Column 057 |
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By Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate
Midwestern poet Richard Newman traces the imaginary life of coins as a
connection between people. The coins—seemingly of little value—become a
ceremonial and communal currency.
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Posted by Rose on Monday, May 01 @ 13:34:56 EDT (452 reads)
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57 Stories (6 Pages, 10 Per Page)
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