Heather's comments
(member since Apr 29, 2009)
(showing 1-7 of 7)
Just got back from Montreal where I managed to purchase 25 used books! I also got a couple of recent literary magazines (one in English, one in French). It was exciting to go to Canada and find a much different selection of poetry than we have in the U.S. I have so much reading to do. Too bad I had to come back to work!
Tara, so cool that you also work in an academic library. Also, the Borders isn't too bad -- it used to be cooler, actually, when I worked there 10 years ago. It's where I met my boyfriend. They used to have an amazing poetry section. Now it's so-so. I mostly shop online anyway.
I agree with the recommendation of Dream Songs. I finished Bucolics over the weekend and wrote a review on GoodReads. Five stars!
How funny that we both worked with Mark! Small world. I guess the poetry world is actually infinitessimally small. (I wonder if I spelled that correctly.)
I am always curious to know which poets are excellent teachers. The first poet I had as a professor was Patricia Goedicke at U of Montana when I was an undergraduate. She was extremely encouraging towards me and I think I owe much of my confidence to her nurturing. I also took several courses with Mark Levine (now at Iowa) when I was at U of Montana. Excellent teacher, very honest, and innovative in his teaching methods. When I came back to Baltimore I took a non-credit poetry workshop with Mary Azrael. The course wasn't rigorous because it was open to beginners and advanced poets alike, but Mary herself was very interesting and I loved the format of her class. I will be starting the MFA at U of Baltimore in the fall and my first poetry workshop will be with Kendra Kopelke. I've heard excellent things about her, and I am very excited to get the program underway.
I have "Poem, Revised" out from the library right now, although it's pretty far down on my reading list so it will be a few months before I get to it. (I work in an academic library so I can basically order any book I want, and I also can check the books out indefinitely unless they get recalled from me.) I bought a book at Borders last month called 12 x 12 -- have you looked at that? There are interviews with "our kind" of poets. Highly recommended! It was kind of expensive -- only deficit.
I loved all of the books I mentioned in my last post. I am now reading Maurice Manning's book called Bucolics. I detect a John Berryman influence. Interesting poems.
I am also reading Writing Metrical Poetry by William Baer. Although it's quite informative, Baer is really pissing me off. He has such conservative and narrow ideas about what makes appropriate subject matter for poems.
I have been reading Adam Zagajewski and Mark Doty recently because I saw both of them read in April. I am also reading The Poet's Companion by Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux.
