"Sometimes grief itself (what Jayant Kamicheril describes as 'that kaleidoscope of broken feelings') must be our source of solace. . . ." I wrote these words in the introduction to Solace in So Many Words mainly in reference to grief experienced after loss of a child or loved one. But recently I have been struggling to find the solace in the news relating to Steubenville, Ohio rape case. There is only grief. Usually in this blog I cite what I have been reading, and that's … [Read more...]
Winter weekend: reading Philip Levine and Donna Hilbert
It's a quiet weekend here and a perfect time to post. Did you read The New Yorker (Feb 11 & 18 issue)? Philip Levine has a poem "In Another Country" and when I say it's dreamy, I mean it literally. In this other country, ". . . There is no town, only / fields of long grass blowing in the wind / and beyond the wind the gray mountains." It ends, ". . . . The wind kept prodding / at my back as though determined / to push me away from where I was, / fearful, perhaps, I … [Read more...]
Lots to read & do: Bass, Desilets, Kerlikowske, Fermoy International Poetry Fest, Dennis O’Driscoll, and ARDOR
Contributors to Solace in So Many Words have been busy as usual. Ellen Bass who has four poems in our book ("And What If I Spoke of Despar," "Don't Expect Applause,""Jack Gottlieb's in Love," and "The Thing Is") has poems in the latest issues of The Sun and The New Yorker. "At the Padre Hotel in Bakersfield, California" which appears on page 33 the February issue of The Sun, features a "deep decolletage exposed enough for open-heart surgery." In The New Yorker, Ellen's … [Read more...]
Somehow it’s September. What’s new with Solace contributors?
I gotta lotta reasons for not writing the blog recently. Summer is ending. A household project is starting. The conventions are on. But you know the real reason is that sometimes I am just lazy. But contributors to Solace in So Many Words haven't been lazy. T. C. Boyle has a story "Birnam Wood" in The New Yorker (September 2, 2012 issue). Joe Meno is interviewed in TriQuarterly (June 17, 2012). Philip Levine has a poem "How to Get There" in February issue of Poetry, and … [Read more...]
So much to read . . .
And not enough time. But apparently I don't believe in the concept of too much to read. Since attending the AWP conference, I have expanded the number of books, chapbooks and mags in the reading pile until it is almost overwhelming, but not really (never). One thing my mother always said was: "Books are our friends." These days I have plenty of friends hanging around, and I keep asking for more. Here are the titles calling to me: "Nocturnes" by Kathleen Kirk … [Read more...]