Charles Wright, our new poet laureate
One of my favorite poets — no one does the meditative lyric better than Wright. His poems are deeply reflective and often turn on the multiple and subtle meanings of words. Much of his work is quasi bucolic, in the sense that in his hands a backyard — a frequent setting for his poems — can be pastoral, urban, quotidian, and otherworldly simultaneously. His poems move forward in search of a destination that must be elusive. It's the journey — full of reflection, longing, and strange emanations — that's essential in Wright's poems. Oddly and wonderfully, these spiritual journeys can have concrete (and often Southern) destinations. And oddly too, or perhaps because of his reticence, he, despite his acknowledged excellence, is underappreciated in the poetry community. I don't know of any American poet writing today whose work moves me more.
FUTURE TENSE
All things in the end are bittersweet—
An empty gaze, a little way-station just beyond silence.
If you can’t delight in the everyday,
you have no future here.
And if you can, no future either.
And time, black dog, will sniff you out,
and lick your lean cheeks,
And lie down beside you—warm, real close—and will not move.
FUTURE TENSE
All things in the end are bittersweet—
An empty gaze, a little way-station just beyond silence.
If you can’t delight in the everyday,
you have no future here.
And if you can, no future either.
And time, black dog, will sniff you out,
and lick your lean cheeks,
And lie down beside you—warm, real close—and will not move.
Published on June 18, 2014 06:02
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Mike Lieberman's take on reading and writing
As the title indicates, this is my place to post my take on reading and writing. How to read, how to review, how write (oh, if I only knew), how to find a publisher (and how not to find a publisher)an
As the title indicates, this is my place to post my take on reading and writing. How to read, how to review, how write (oh, if I only knew), how to find a publisher (and how not to find a publisher)and everything else in this small corner of the universe are considered. I welcome your comments—that part of how I learn. Writing clarifies my thoughts, but feedback is invaluable.
And also what I just plain like in fiction and poetry without being able to tell you why. ...more
And also what I just plain like in fiction and poetry without being able to tell you why. ...more
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