It's
in the Air
Poetry and the Universe
I believe
that the universe provides what is needed in the moment. Before
I started my book of poetry (Skyscapes: A Woman's View),
I was a lapsed reader of poetry. I didn't review poetry. I certainly
didn't know any poets.
Since
then I have run across an artist who sometimes illustrates (amazing,
heartfelt, spiritual photographs) poetry books, named Eric Dinyer.
I found a friend in a young poet named David Herrle because he started
up a new website called Subtletea.com
where my newly published collection of creative nonfiction was reviewed.
I have reviewed several books of poetry for MyShelf and other sites;
you can find some of them listed below. And I took a poetry class
in St. Petersburg, Russia, from Mark Halperin, an accomplished poet
who teaches in Washington state. My classmates were all blooming
poets-some just learning, others accomplished. Whew! The universe
delivers what we need in abundance. Ours is only to recognize it
for what it is when it comes and snuggles in our laps like a purring
kitten.
Or,
maybe it is the other way around. We are attracted to what the universe
is full of. It so permeates the atmosphere that we breathe it in.
Barnes and Noble recently announced that it has sold 30% more poetry
books and Borders Books and Music noted a similar surge.
The
Academy of American Poets has doubled its size in the last few
years and it recently announced the debut of its popular Poetry
Book Club.
One
of the LA Times most exciting news stories of the year was that
Ruth Lilly left much of her pharmaceuticals millions to Poetry Magazine
even though they had not once published one of the poems she had
submitted over the years. It seems there is truly something about
poetry that increases generosity of spirit and if this story isn't
an indication of that, I don't know what would be. I suppose people
will have to quit saying that good news never makes the front page!
It is
in the spirit of Lilly's generosity, I would like to mention some
poets that my readers might want to search for on Amazon or other
sites. Many of them are new or relatively unknown. When appropriate
I have included ISBN numbers so that you might more readily find
their books:
Doomsinger Smiles by David
J. Herrle (Subtletea.com)
Life
and Death by Bollingen Prize in Poetry winner Robert Creeley
(ISBN: 0811214494)
Time
as Distance by Mark Halperin (ISBN: 0932826210)
Edgewater
by Ruth L. Schwartz (ISBN: 0060082534)
Lot
of My Sister by Alison Stine, a chapbook (ISBN: 0873387058)
North
Point North by John Koethe (ISBN: 006620982X)
The
Breathing Field: Meditations of Yoga by Wyatt Townley; Images
by Eric Dinyer (ISBN: 081227947)
The
World is Round by Nikky Finney (ISBN: 0971489041)
The
Caedmon Poetry Collection: A Century of Poets Reading Their
Work, Audio (ISBN 069422791)
Skyscapes is yet unpublished. It is no matter. It seems to
be drawing beauty to it and to me, a another reminder of what magic
there is in our world, in our cosmos.
| Tips
and Tidbits
Each month in this box, Carolyn
lists a writing or promotion tidbit that will help authors
and a tip to help readers find a treasure among long-neglected
books or a sapphire among the newly-published.
Writers' Tidbit:
Receive a tidbit of grammar in each day's mailbox until
you have painlessly covered all the basics. Go to: www.dailygrammar.com.
It is quite milestone when the messages stop coming and you
realize it is because you have mastered all the essentials.
Archives are also available. The ever-so-able disseminator
of all things grammatical is Mr. Bill Johansen, a teacher
at Utah State University. And, no, in spite of my Utah roots
I do not know him personally. (-:
Readers' Tip: Seldom
do I feel that film does literature justice. "The Pianist,"
directed by Roman Polanski, is an exception. It is stunning.
A superb story of a Polish pianist who lived through more
than one human being should need to and not only survived
but conquered. Because it deals with my passion, the corrosive
nature of intolerance, and because it is so exceptional, I
thought you might not mind my lapse from reading to viewing.
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