Poetry and About Poetry

In the Next Galaxy by Ruth Stone My rating: 5 of 5 stars The more I read the poetry of Ruth Stone, the more I regret her passing in 2011. She weaves the natural world, current events, the lives of other characters, and science into the web of telling her own life. With unassuming eloquence, she speaks in a diction that is both commonplace and vivid: “the power of nothing to multiply. Turning the hand over to become the palm, for a moment it can shape itself into a cup of water.” In this passage and throughout, Stone seeks a deep acceptance of what is and what has been so that she may live in the now, despite the terrible loss built into our very existence: “Then the absent tree when the play yard is paved with asphalt, a blank space where the tree was, a space that the birds pass pver, where the wind does not pause.” Or in describing her decades as a widow: “in my thirty years of knowing you cell by cell in my widow’s shawl, we have lived together lo...

In the Next Galaxy by Ruth Stone My rating: 5 of 5 stars The more I read the poetry of Ruth Stone, the more I regret her passing in 2011. She weaves the natural world, current events, the lives of other characters, and science into the web of telling her own life. With unassuming eloquence, she speaks in a diction that is both commonplace and vivid: "the power of nothing to multiply. Turning the hand over to become the palm, for a moment it can shape itself into a cup of water." In this passage and throughout, Stone seeks a deep acceptance of what is and what has been so that she may live in the now, despite the terrible loss built into our very existence: "Then the absent tree when the play yard is paved with asphalt, a blank space where the tree was, a space that the birds pass pver, where the wind does not pause." Or in describing her decades as a widow: "in my thirty years of knowing you cell by cell in my widow's shawl, we have lived together longer...

Put Your Hands in by Chris Hosea My rating: 4 of 5 stars This collection was difficult to rate with the simple star method because I found it sometimes brilliant, sometimes interesting enough, and sometimes just too cute or “experimental” for its own good. I chose 4 stars because when it is good, it demonstrates that there are still possibilities in the intentional destruction of grammar and language. a la Ashberry if the writer is skilled. And Hosea is skilled. Told in many voices, often speaking in the same poem, even the same line, the poems do convey fractured stories and experiences. I found myself underlining lines and parts of lines for their eloquence, though Hosea may hate that word. This volume is for those willing to work at reading by not trying too hard to understand in a traditional prose sense, but simply bathe in the flow of words and let them rumble their meanings. I did find many poems simply too fractured, pushing past the limits where little can pass bet...

Put Your Hands in by Chris Hosea My rating: 4 of 5 stars This collection was difficult to rate with the simple star method because I found it sometimes brilliant, sometimes interesting enough, and sometimes just too cute or "experimental" for its own good. I chose 4 stars because when it is good, it demonstrates that there are still possibilities in the intentional destruction of grammar and language. a la Ashberry if the writer is skilled. And Hosea is skilled. Told in many voices, often speaking in the same poem, even the same line, the poems do convey fractured stories and experiences. I found myself underlining lines and parts of lines for their eloquence, though Hosea may hate that word. This volume is for those willing to work at reading by not trying too hard to understand in a traditional prose sense, but simply bathe in the flow of words and let them rumble their meanings. I did find many poems simply too fractured, pushing past the limits where little can pass be...

In a poignant and thoughtful interview, one of my favorite contemporary poets, Jane Hirshfield, says some simply profound things about why we write and read poetry. http://www.sfgate.com/books/article/Interview-with-poet-Jane-Hirshfield-6128947.php “I think art keeps its newness because it’s at once unforgettable and impossible to remember entirely. Art is too volatile, multiple and evaporative to hold on to. It’s more chemical reaction, one you have to re-create each time, than a substance.” “The secret of understanding poetry is to hear poetry’s words as what they are: the full self’s most intimate speech, half waking, half dream. You listen to a poem as you might listen to someone you love who tells you their truest day.”

In a poignant and thoughtful interview, one of my favorite contemporary poets, Jane Hirshfield, says some simply profound things about why we write and read poetry. http://www.sfgate.com/books/article/Interview-with-poet-Jane-Hirshfield-6128947.php "I think art keeps its newness because it’s at once unforgettable and impossible to remember entirely. Art is too volatile, multiple and evaporative to hold on to. It’s more chemical reaction, one you have to re-create each time, than a substance." "The secret of understanding poetry is to hear poetry’s words as what they are: the full self’s most intimate speech, half waking, half dream. You listen to a poem as you might listen to someone you love who tells you their truest day."

Ordinary Words by Ruth Stone My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is a book of extraordinary words, as Ruth Stone tries to understated mortality and then accept that it cannot be understood, only accepted. She looks at the “prison” of ordinary usage and grammar, and asks and explore how language can be made to reveal again, not merely conceal. Stone is an under-appreciated poet of the 20th Century who was still vital and relevant into the 21st. This 1999 collection is highly recommended, whether you read poetry on a regular basis or not. As we read, we are the “open-mouthed”: Vapor, a transient thing, a dervish seen rising in a whirl of wind, or brief cloud casting its changing shadow; though below, the open-mouthed might stand transfixed by mirage, a visionary oasis.” View all my reviews

Ordinary Words by Ruth Stone My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is a book of extraordinary words, as Ruth Stone tries to understated mortality and then accept that it cannot be understood, only accepted. She looks at the "prison" of ordinary usage and grammar, and asks and explore how language can be made to reveal again, not merely conceal. Stone is an under-appreciated poet of the 20th Century who was still vital and relevant into the 21st. This 1999 collection is highly recommended, whether you read poetry on a regular basis or not. As we read, we are the "open-mouthed": Vapor, a transient thing, a dervish seen rising in a whirl of wind, or brief cloud casting its changing shadow; though below, the open-mouthed might stand transfixed by mirage, a visionary oasis." View all my reviews

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Run-Through: A Memoir by John Houseman My rating: 5 of 5 stars A fascinating story on many levels: Houseman's life as a citizen of many nations and none, his coming to America and success as an immigrant, his fraught but creative relationship with Orson Welles, his work at the nexus of so much mid-20th Century art of the theater, Broadway, radio and finally motion pictures. All written masterfully by a man fluent in 4 languages. View all my reviews

The Infant Scholar by Kathy Nilsson My rating: 3 of 5 stars In "The Infant Scholar," Kathy Nilsson writes intentionally fractured verse, perhaps to reflect the chaos of life and the overwhelming flow of digitally provide information. This effect often works, as one line has much white space between itself and others and only an occasional grammatical connection. However, sometimes the technique seems used just for itself, frustrating a reader who wishes to travel with Nilsson through her experiences. It's not as bad as some verse written as if with a random line generator, not by any means. And there are some fine lines and trenchant commentary: "The pills you take to help you sleep, sleep for you" Or "Free from attachment I live as though I were already dead" In fact, if you read the book as a collection of aphorisms, you may enjoy it more. View all my reviews