On the last day of National Poetry Month—today—I turned my attention finally away from Leonard Cohen and listened to a CD of e.e. cummings reading his own work. Undeterred by the fact that he was a pretty terrible reader (or this was one truly substandard performance), I was happily reminded how much I love his poem “somewhere i have never traveled, gladly beyond.” Continue reading
I’ve spent much of the early part of April, National Poetry Month, reading the poetry of Leonard Cohen. That’s largely because I spent much of the end of March doing the same. I came across Cohen’s last book, The Flame, among my library’s CD books, and brought it home to accompany me on my way to and from work. Halfway through, I went back to the library and got the hardcover book as well.
The changing of the year is a time for both looking back and looking forward. One of the ways I like to look back is by remembering some of the best books I’ve read during the past year. For me, this has been a year with a lot of poetry—and poetry by writers I’ve never before encountered. Continue reading
I’ve just finished taking a New Year’s Eve walk with Lillian Boxfish.
I know it’s not yet New Year’s Eve. Ms. Boxfish is the title character in Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk, by Chicago author Kathleen Rooney. Ms. Boxfish loves walking through Manhattan, where she has lived for nearly 60 years, and she unexpectedly spends her New Year’s Eve (1984 into 1985) tromping through the city she loves, instead of curled up in bed falling asleep with a book as she had planned. Continue reading
If you’re one of the 98-99 percent of U.S. residents who isn’t a full-blooded Native American, immigration is your family story. You might be the first generation in the U.S., or you might be the 10th; but somewhere back in your lineage you’ll find immigrants.
And chances are, you’ll find immigrants who were belittled, shamed and made to feel like outsiders. Even if your ancestors were among the first pilgrims, and might not have faced that on this new continent, think about why they came here. They were belittled, shamed and made to feel like outsiders elsewhere.
Poet José Olivarez is a first-generation Mexican-American, and shame and the quest to belong are very personal themes to him. Continue reading
National Book Lovers Day was this week (Thursday, Aug. 9), and Escape into Life asked on Facebook what people were reading. The answers came back in wide variety, and mine was The Monk of Mokha, by Dave Eggers, plus a whole lot of poetry. I might write about The Monk of Mokha when I’ve finished it (suffice to say now that I’m enjoying it). For now, I want to give the poetry its due.
I don’t read poetry every day of my life, and sometimes I go fairly long periods without reading any. For the last few months, though, I’ve had it open regularly and often read myself to sleep with it. Here are books that have stood out: Continue reading