Sher’s Comments (group member since Nov 23, 2020)

Sher’s comments from the Nonfiction Reading - Only the Best group.

John wrote: "Sher wrote: "Sounds good John-- let us know.

I'm listening to the complete works of Edgar Allen Poe-- about 22 hours worth of Poe-- will I make it?

Finished the collected works of William Butler..."

Wow, John- that's kinda weird.

question-- what is your favorite Edgar Allen Poe short story? Do you have one?

This is such an interesting article about the Ukrainian language and poetry and Putin's attempt to cancel out the Ukrainian language. I hope you get a few minutes to check it out.

https://lithub.com/putins-attack-on-u...

Sounds good John-- let us know.

I'm listening to the complete works of Edgar Allen Poe-- about 22 hours worth of Poe-- will I make it?

Finished the collected works of William Butler Yeats, which to my surprise didn't thrill me...

Hi Carol-- I enjoyed flowery, bowery poem. Very fun....

Thanks Larry for your list. I realized I cannot possible participate, because I haven't read enough poetry for enough years. So, for me for the next ten years, I'd better post my favorites of the year. So, let me put my list for 2021 together. Mine won't have your sophistication-- but , it is where I am right now with my reading.

P.s. I just got introduced to W.S. Merwin and Jorie Graham last week!

Prayer
BY JORIE GRAHAM
Over a dock railing, I watch the minnows, thousands, swirl
themselves, each a minuscule muscle, but also, without the
way to create current, making of their unison (turning, re-
infolding,
entering and exiting their own unison in unison) making of themselves a
visual current, one that cannot freight or sway by
minutest fractions the water’s downdrafts and upswirls, the
dockside cycles of finally-arriving boat-wakes, there where
they hit deeper resistance, water that seems to burst into
itself (it has those layers), a real current though mostly
invisible sending into the visible (minnows) arrowing
motion that forces change—
this is freedom. This is the force of faith. Nobody gets
what they want. Never again are you the same. The longing
is to be pure. What you get is to be changed. More and more by
each glistening minute, through which infinity threads itself,
also oblivion, of course, the aftershocks of something
at sea. Here, hands full of sand, letting it sift through
in the wind, I look in and say take this, this is
what I have saved, take this, hurry. And if I listen
now? Listen, I was not saying anything. It was only
something I did. I could not choose words. I am free to go.
I cannot of course come back. Not to this. Never.
It is a ghost posed on my lips. Here: never.


Notes:
PRAYER (“minnows”) was written as a turn-of-the-millennium poem for the New York Times Op-Ed page, and was originally dated 12.31.00
Jorie Graham, “Prayer” from Never. Copyright © 2002 by Jorie Graham. Used with the permission of HarperCollins Publishers.
Source: Never (HarperCollins Publishers Inc, 2002)

Based on Chinese culture, I would not expect this poem to be sympathetic toward the women's plight. Looking at this poem today, it almost strikes me as compassionate. Compassionate while suggesting that the entirety of a woman's life is having a mate. We wouldn't agree today, or at least most of us would not agree.

Thanks John-- wow, I wonder what I would put on that list. I mean what would my list look like?

Larry?
Carol?

John--thanks for bringing this book to our attention- I placed it on my TBR list. But I won't get to it until late fall.

I like the spirit, imagery, and tone of this sweet, simple poem Larry! Perfect for this day...

Kim Stafford

THE HARD PART

It’s easy to lie, at first.
People want to believe you.
And betrayal—a cinch.
You control the first move.
Killing is so easy, it’s absurd.
People didn’t see it coming.
Even war, if you’re the one
to start it, goes well for awhile.
Sure, people hate you, fear you,
looking down as they surrender.
Once you win, for a thin moment
you enjoy the ornate word: Victory.
It glitters in your hands like dirty gold.


this is one of 5 poems as a series that KIM STAFFORD recently wrote about the war in Ukraine.

A beautiful elegy Larry-- thanks for sharing this one.
I found the last few lines moving -- the idea of can we not linger just a little while longer-- in some neutral just here state. I don't know this poet; I'll look him up.

I like that poem by Gregory Orr -- John.
Thanks.

Love the last line then why all this music

Yes, once I read the book, I will let you know how it is! Thanks Larry...

John- I LOVED Old Poets, and here is another follow up book by Godine that I just bought.
The Light Within the Light: Portraits of Donald Hall, Richard Wilbur, Maxine Kumin, and Stanley Kunitz

Since the death of Robert Frost, American poetry has seen few major poets create important work in their seventh decade—and beyond. Yet Donald Hall, Richard Wilbur, Maxine Kumin, and Stanley Kunitz moved from strength to strength well past then. Each continued to publish new books and collected further accolades, including the Harvard Arts Medal (awarded to Kumin) and the Ruth Lilly Prize (awarded to Wilbur).

These are poets who bear, in individual and collective ways, the imprint of Frost’s legacy: a clear commitment to form; a belief that, “like a piece of ice on a hot stove, a poem must ride on its own melting”; a willingness, even an eagerness, to assume the role of poet-as-witness. Their poems capture a corner of New England imbued with a spirit that is both of the place and of the poet. Against the backdrop of a dark world, all four created poems that are illumined from within, holding a vision of human possibility steady in the light.

Each poet-profile in The Light Within the Light is based on intimate personal interviews and explores the landscapes, lives, and artistic achievements of the poet. Several poems are woven into each essay, allowing the reader to experience the poet’s world in his or her own words. Since the paths of the four poets cross frequently, the essays “converse” with one another, layering the narrative. Detailed informational endnotes and a list of selected readings cite primary and secondary sources of interest for each poet, making the book useful to the lay reader and literary specialist alike.

The book design is by Barry Moser, a wood engraver sensitive to poets and their works. He provides a full-page portrait of each of the four poets as well as spot illustrations.

BRANDON LANGFORD TALKS THROUGH DETENTION by
Maryfrances Wagner

I’m here because I don’t want a suspension,
but I hope you know you caused me to miss my bus.
I don’t even understand why I have detention.
You tell us to say what we think. I spoke
my thoughts, and that’s my right. My dad
does it all the time, freedom of speech,
and we cheer. Well, we did. He’s a combat vet,
but now he’s in prison for child porn
and hitting my mom. She’s glad he’s gone.
Do I have to stay here the whole time?
If I’m nice, can I leave early? You could even
drive me home if you want. My house is four
miles from here. My mom works. You wouldn’t
want me to sit outside until ten would you?
I don’t know what to write my narrative on.
Maybe you could give me some ideas. Do you
like fish? I have tropical fish. I could write about that.
Have you ever been to a fish show? Bet you
didn’t even know there was such a thing.
I won first place in the last show. I set up
a great tank, and all of my fish have babies.
I like guppies best. I once had a mother
die in childbirth, but the baby lived. I still have him.
My fantails are beauties, and I have gouramis
and cichlids. My mom says they calm me down.
You probably want me to shut up and do homework,
write that narrative for your class. I already did my math.
I’m good at math. I’m not good at raising my hand
before I talk. This I know. I can do my timetables
up to fives. My math teacher taught me how to do them
on my knuckles. Do you want me to show you?
Nah, you probably want to grade papers
and ignore me. I get it. My mom does that too.
She turns the TV louder. You wouldn’t mind
taking me home would you? You could see my fish.
—from Rattle #74, Winter 2021

__________

Maryfrances Wagner: “I did have Brandon (I changed his last name) in an English class I had many years ago, and when I was going through old journals I kept, I found the conversation I recorded when he did serve detention in my classroom after school, a way I tried to provide an extra opportunity for students to have another chance before they were suspended. That time I spent with him told me so much about him that I would have never known otherwise. It reminds me of how important it is not to judge before we know the whole story.”

..Our Soul Shall Never Perish.
Freedom Knows No Dying,
And the Greedy Cannot Harvest
Fields Where Seas Are Lying;
Cannot Bind the Living Spirit
Nor the Living Word.
Cannot Smirch the Sacred Glory
Of Th’Almighty Lord.
Taras Shechenko – The Caucasus - 1845

Carol:
I really appreciate your research into Ukrainian poets. Were you able to find an online source to read more of Taras Shevchenko's poems?

This section of The Mighty Dnieper. is powerful.

Thank you Larry.

And John....oops I will be back

John:

There is a lot of discussion in MFA programs right now about rhyme and meter and the trend is away from it. I heard one poet speak of being told not to use rhythm and meter.

I think fantastic poems come in many guises. When I read a lot of 19th C poetry, and I switch over to Contemporary , I feel unsatisfied . But recently I had been reading a lot of Contemporary verse and I switched to a week of Thomas Hardy, and some of Hardy's verse felt artificial to me. And sometimes rhyme seems artificial in that it seems obvious much of the poem is about the rhyme -- making the rhyme work. And, I like Thomas Hardy's poetry, or at least I always have.

I try to read classic and contemporary poetry at the same time to avoid getting my ear to accustomed to a style and time period.

Yet, we know the human ear likes symmetry and rhythm, and this explains why we are attracted to regular meter and rhyme.

What do you like about Emily Dickinson's poetry?

For me- I am on a mission to read widely across time periods and styles. Still, I agree there is much going on in poetry right now I don't care for and some contemporary poetry right now that I find stunning. So, I keep reading and voicing today's poetry.