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Poems from the Sangamon
"Regional poetry at its best, where the strongly articulated local
voice slips easily, persuasively, and movingly into the universal."
-- J. R. Willingham, Choice
"Uses the history and prehistory of the Sangamon river valley as
his subject matter; the poems are laconic, earthy, full of sharply observed
details, and are rendered with a flair for common speech." -- Library
Journal
"Knoepfle has long been misunderstood and underestimated among U.S.
poets. . . . poems from the sangamon, his finest single collection
to date, celebrates the Sangamon country around Springfield." --
Charles Guenther, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"Captures without nostalgia a time and a people in their essences,
embodying their raw emotions, their dreams, and the bitter realities of
being caught up in the twentieth century." -- Anne C. Bromley, Prairie
Schooner
voice slips easily, persuasively, and movingly into the universal."
-- J. R. Willingham, Choice
"Uses the history and prehistory of the Sangamon river valley as
his subject matter; the poems are laconic, earthy, full of sharply observed
details, and are rendered with a flair for common speech." -- Library
Journal
"Knoepfle has long been misunderstood and underestimated among U.S.
poets. . . . poems from the sangamon, his finest single collection
to date, celebrates the Sangamon country around Springfield." --
Charles Guenther, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"Captures without nostalgia a time and a people in their essences,
embodying their raw emotions, their dreams, and the bitter realities of
being caught up in the twentieth century." -- Anne C. Bromley, Prairie
Schooner
- GenresPoetry
128 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 14, 2021
anyone can tell you
charlie is my name well
you get old the barn is a place
and catfood keeps in a tin
will do as well as a roast and
it doesn't cost so much
see you go off after so many years
healthy or not
so next fall I climb to the loft
and when spring comes
they can look for me in that place
I dont complain whats fair
whats unfair my life was
only a little life
but you can tell everybody
I did not end it myself
man in overalls
John Knoepfle's collection Poems from the Sangamon provide a glimpse into the geographical and cultural influences on the people and landscape of rural Illinois. Knoepfle's poetry is universal in its reflections. The characters, humor, and spirituality within the poems transcend a specific locality. Knoepfle employs verse without punctuation or capitalization (aside from capitalizing the personal pronoun "I") which can obscure the meaning of some passages: We heard about a comma making a difference whether or not we're eating with or eating grandma; here, the absence of punctuation can leave the reader confused if the reader is trying to speed through this collection. Rather, the lack of grammar forces the reader to slow down, like the Sangamon, and flow one word to the next. As readers, we are free to participate in the creation of meaning and significance.
thank you for listening to me
but I must tell you
I am not native to this country
because I was conceived
far east of broadwell in indiana
my parents coming to williamsville
shortly after and I
was born there and that was
five summers ago last june 21st
and that is how it is
I am the gnawed bone of my
fathers desire the starlight
of my mothers dreaming
I am the bean blossom of their
happy needfulness
my mother luxuriously yawning
oh you were wonderful
and my father his face shining
like an apple you duck for
in the kitchen on halloween
did you really think so
I am in other respects
like everyone here
I am starred with bethlehem
I will have my crown of thorns
but there will be
hosannas too in my life
and delectable mountains
as in everyones life
princess candidate, sangamon county fair
charlie is my name well
you get old the barn is a place
and catfood keeps in a tin
will do as well as a roast and
it doesn't cost so much
see you go off after so many years
healthy or not
so next fall I climb to the loft
and when spring comes
they can look for me in that place
I dont complain whats fair
whats unfair my life was
only a little life
but you can tell everybody
I did not end it myself
man in overalls
John Knoepfle's collection Poems from the Sangamon provide a glimpse into the geographical and cultural influences on the people and landscape of rural Illinois. Knoepfle's poetry is universal in its reflections. The characters, humor, and spirituality within the poems transcend a specific locality. Knoepfle employs verse without punctuation or capitalization (aside from capitalizing the personal pronoun "I") which can obscure the meaning of some passages: We heard about a comma making a difference whether or not we're eating with or eating grandma; here, the absence of punctuation can leave the reader confused if the reader is trying to speed through this collection. Rather, the lack of grammar forces the reader to slow down, like the Sangamon, and flow one word to the next. As readers, we are free to participate in the creation of meaning and significance.
thank you for listening to me
but I must tell you
I am not native to this country
because I was conceived
far east of broadwell in indiana
my parents coming to williamsville
shortly after and I
was born there and that was
five summers ago last june 21st
and that is how it is
I am the gnawed bone of my
fathers desire the starlight
of my mothers dreaming
I am the bean blossom of their
happy needfulness
my mother luxuriously yawning
oh you were wonderful
and my father his face shining
like an apple you duck for
in the kitchen on halloween
did you really think so
I am in other respects
like everyone here
I am starred with bethlehem
I will have my crown of thorns
but there will be
hosannas too in my life
and delectable mountains
as in everyones life
princess candidate, sangamon county fair
Displaying 1 of 1 review