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Nefertiti in the Flak Tower by Clive James

April 16, 2014 by

Source: Liveright
Hardcover, 96 pages
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Nefertiti in the Flak Tower by Clive James is a collection of rhyming and metered poems that relies heavily on history, particularly that of WWII, to make connections about the resiliency of human kind in the face of horrifying adversity.  The title poem, Nefertiti in the Flak Tower, does use the history of the Nefertiti bust as a German treasure that was moved and protected in a Flak Tower during WWII, towers that were built to protect cities like Berlin from air raids with guns and shelter citizens.  Beyond the historically based poems, there are poems about the life of a writer and his friends and how even these glamorous lives of signing books can become mundane, but there are those moments that make even the most thankless jobs worthwhile.

From "Grief Has Its Time" (page 81)

"Free of such burdens, I pursue my course
Supposing myself blessed with the light touch,
A blithesome ease my principal resource.
Sometimes on stage I even say as much,

Or did, till one night in the signing queue
An ancient lady touched my wrist and said
I'd made her smile the way he used to do
When hearts were won by how a young man read

Aloud, and decent girls were led astray
By sweet speech. "Can you put his name with mine?
Before the war, before he went away,
We used to read together." Last in line

She had all my attention, so I wrote"

James comes across as both romantic and removed.  The rhyming poems can linger in the mind when the emotion is clear and connects with the reader, but there are other occasions when the rhymes seem forced and throw off the rhythm of the poem, creating a disconnect between the reader and the subject.  Nefertiti in the Flak Tower by Clive James is a mix of some really great poems that will leave a lasting impression and those that fall a little flat on first and second reading.

Book 10 for the Dive Into Poetry Reading Challenge 2014.

 

 

 

16th book for 2014 New Author Challenge.

 

 

 

For today’s 2014 National Poetry Month: Reach for the Horizon tour stop, click the image below:

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Any Anxious Body by Chrissy Kolaya

April 15, 2014 by

Source: the poet, Chrissy Kolaya
Paperback, 96 pages
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Any Anxious Body by Chrissy Kolaya does not have the most eye-catching cover, but what’s inside will knock your socks off!  Beginning with what readers may see as someone who lived through the Great Depression when saving everything counted toward survival, Kolaya uses early memories and events overheard to not only connect generation to generation, but to weave a thread through each struggle and moment of unease and concern that each moment is fleeting.  Humans are in a perpetually anxious state, sometimes without knowing it, because our lives are finite and each moment has a beginning and end — often ending before we’re ready to deal with it.

From “Fired” (page 17)

His friend —
the one married just out of high school,
runs his eyes over you,
smoothing the skin over your bones.

Kolaya — using notes from a great grandmother who no longer can verbally communicate and a letter from her daughter — has a visceral sense of not only the human body and its reactions to touch, but also the emotional connections between family and lovers. Her verses are fresh and evoke a response from her readers immediately. While there is a sense of contemplation about life events and family connections, the poems also never forget to remind readers that too much thinking can prevent life from happening.

From “Polarity” (page 15)

She wants to talk about how it will work
and I think:
I will move toward you in a moment or two,
and you should do the same.

Any Anxious Body by Chrissy Kolaya has created a reflective collection of poems, a collection that requires the reader to listen to the voices, to the moments, to the memories, but more importantly to open themselves up to the experience.  Each poem’s voice changes perspective, providing readers with the fullest view of living as possible, and sometimes those perspectives can leave you squirming.

About the Author:

Chrissy Kolaya is a poet and fiction writer. Her short fiction has been included in the anthologies New Sudden Fiction (Norton) and Fiction on a Stick (Milkweed Editions). Her poems and fiction have appeared in a number of literary journals.

She has received a Norman Mailer Writers Colony summer scholarship, an Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies fellowship, a Loft Mentor Series Award in Poetry, and grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Lake Region Arts Council, and the University of Minnesota. She teaches writing at the University of Minnesota Morris. Check out her blog and her Facebook page.

15th book for 2014 New Author Challenge.

 

 

 

Book 9 for the Dive Into Poetry Reading Challenge 2014.

 

 

For today’s 2014 National Poetry Month: Reach for the Horizon tour stop, click the image below:

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Book Spine Poetry

April 13, 2014 by

I’ve always loved exercises that have people thinking outside their comfort zones.  For National Poetry Month, I would love to see what everyone can create out of book spines to make their own poem.

Take some books (doesn’t have to be just poetry), place them in an order that makes sense to you, and you’ll have your poem.

Here’s what I came up with:

bookspine

Walking Home
The Odyssey
To Join the Lost
Any Anxious Body
Chasing Utopia
Flies
Rubber Side Down

I hope you’ll all join me and share your own book spine poem.

 

For today’s 2014 National Poetry Month: Reach for the Horizon tour stop, click the image below:

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249th Virtual Poetry Circle

April 12, 2014 by

Welcome to the 249th Virtual Poetry Circle!

Remember, this is just for fun and is not meant to be stressful.

Keep in mind what Molly Peacock’s book suggested.

Look at a line, a stanza, sentences, and images; describe what you like or don’t like; and offer an opinion. If you missed my review of her book, check it out here.

Also, sign up for the 2014 Dive Into Poetry Reading Challenge because there are several levels of participation for your comfort level.

Click for today’s stop on the 2014 National Poetry Month Blog Tour: Reach for the Horizon

Today’s poem is from New European Poets edited by Wayne Miller and Kevin Prufer:

Between Yesterday and Your Mouth by Rosa Alice Branco of Portugal (page 4)

I will spend the night with those days.
With the smile you left in the sheets.
I still burn with the remains of your name
and see with your eyes the things that you touched.
I am here between the bread and table, in the glass
you lift to your mouth. In the mouth that holds me.
And I don't know what I am between yesterday and what will come.
Yesterday I was the river at evening, the gaze that caressed the light.
My son writes on pebbles on the beach and I invent
steps for deciphering them. They all roll far away.
That's how the sea is. I am learning with the waves
to melt away to foam. There is always a seagull
that cries out when I come near, there is always a wing
between the sky and my floor. But nothing belongs to me,
not even the words with which I cement the hours.
Perhaps love is just a small difference in time zones
or a linguistic accord that only exists
deep in the flesh. But here where I am not
what grounds me is the certainty that you exist.

   translated from the Portuguese by Alexis Levitin

What do you think?

This is part of the 2014 National Poetry Month: Reach for the Horizon Blog Tour, click the button for more poetry:

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Ode to Childhood: Poetry to Celebrate the Child edited by Samuel Carr

April 10, 2014 by

Source: Sterling Children’s Books
Hardcover, 96 pages
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Ode to Childhood: Poetry to Celebrate the Child by Samuel Carr is a collection of poems from a variety of poets about children, parenthood, and their own childhoods, and no collection about children would be complete without William Blake, who has four poems included.  Blake is a poet that spoke about the innocence of childhood in a great many poems, which can be found in his Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience.  His childlike lines and voice evoke the childlike quality readers will immediately reference in their own experiences, but his poems also speak of a duality in childhood between desire and the more enlightened search for knowledge.  He demonstrates that children learn from the reactions and action of others in “Infant Sorrow,” learning that smiles get reactions that wailing did not.

Longfellow image

Reprinted with permission from Ode to Childhood © 2014 Batsford, distributed by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. Photography by TFL from the London Transport Museum collection.

While each poem in the collection is about children or childhood, they are by turns nostalgic for a childhood lost, a celebration of innocence and play, and a homage to the joys that children bring to parents, others, and themselves.  Many of these poems are from classic poets and could be harder to comprehend upon first reading because of the difference in modern language, but the gist of the poems can be easily discerned from the overall atmosphere in the poems.

From “The Schoolboy” by William Blake (page 76)

I love to rise in a summer morn
When the birds sing on every tree;
The distant huntsman winds his horn,
And the sky-lark sings with me.
O! what sweet company.

But to go to school in a summer morn,
O! it drives all joy away;
Under a cruel eye outworn,
The little ones spend the day
In sighing and dismay.

The rhymes and rhythms of these poems could be read aloud almost like lullabies, but there are deeper meanings and stories that are told.  Coupled with the vibrant drawings that pop when readers turn the page, nostalgia for a by-gone era can take over —  remember scampering through those hills, playing follow-the-leader, or just chasing other kids around.  Ode to Childhood: Poetry to Celebrate the Child by Samuel Carr is not just a celebration of childhood or innocence, but a celebration of life.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO WIN ODE TO CHILDHOOD edited by Samuel Carr, tell me a childhood memory in the comments. You must have a U.S. mailing address to enter. Giveaway ends April 15, 2014, at 11:59 PM EST

Book 8 for the Dive Into Poetry Reading Challenge 2014.

 

 

For today’s 2014 National Poetry Month: Reach for the Horizon tour stop, click the image below:

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Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes edited by David Roessel and Arnold Rampersad, illustrated by Benny Andrews

April 9, 2014 by

Source: Sterling Children’s Books
Hardcover, 48 pages
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes edited by David Roessel and Arnold Rampersad, illustrated by Benny Andrews for ages 8+, is a collection of poems that won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award in 2007.  Hughes’ poems grew from a love of Whitman and a desire to express the joys of Black culture through verse and in an unapologetic way — and many of his poems are steeped in the urban experience from New York’s Harlem to Washington, D.C.  where is poem “Big Buddy” has become an anthem for the Split This Rock Poetry Festival.

Hughes’ introduction is long, and well it should be given his influence and his numerous works, but there is enough in here to conduct an entire lesson about American culture in the 1920s and beyond.  Like in the other books of this series, there are accompanying illustrations and explanations of what the poet thought or where the inspiration came from, and more importantly, dialects, unusual terms, and geographic locations are explained in the footnotes at the bottom of the page.

From “I, Too” (page 22)

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

The beauty of Hughes’ poems is the ways in which he illustrates not only the beauty of his people, but that of America with his people in it.  Infusing poems with a musicality of jazz or blues evokes an even greater emotional response when read aloud.  Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes edited by David Roessel and Arnold Rampersad, illustrated by Benny Andrews, is poignant, fun, and full of history.  Poems that are less about the darker side of life and more about the joys that we find within it.

Also in the series:


IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO WIN POETRY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE PRIZE PACK, name a favorite poet or poem in the comments. You must have a U.S. mailing address to enter. Giveaway ends April 15, 2014, at 11:59 PM EST

Book 7 for the Dive Into Poetry Reading Challenge 2014.

 

 

For today’s 2014 National Poetry Month: Reach for the Horizon tour stop, click the image below:

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Poetry for Young People: African American Poetry edited by Arnold Rampersad and Marcellus Blount, illustrated by Karen Barbour

April 8, 2014 by

Source: Sterling Children’s Books
Hardcover, 48 pages
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Poetry for Young People: African American Poetry edited by Arnold Rampersad and Marcellus Blount, illustrated by Karen Barbour for ages 8+, includes poems from those well-known and those who may be new to readers, teachers, and parents alike.  Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Nikki Giovanni, and Lucille Clifton are just some of the poets you would expect in this collection, but also there is Elizabeth Alexander, Alice Walker, and others who are either known for other literary works or are not as well recognized by the public for their poetic accomplishments.  The editors include explanations of the poets’ lives, the poems, and vocabulary that may be unfamiliar.  The illustrations are very reminiscent of modern art with a bit of a mosaic quality.

From “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar (page 12)

We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,–
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties,

Why should the world be over-wise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.

In the introduction, the editors raise a good point about African-American poets and their sense of duty to balance not only their freedom to write about any subject, but also their internal obligation to write about the subject of race.  Two poets — Philis Wheatley and George Moses Horton — were given the freedom to learn to read and write as slaves and to publish or compile their own poetry collections, a “privilege” that was not lost on them.

For those early poets paving the way for other African-American poets, a new struggle began for them — writing in dialect and Standard English — and these poets soon began to feel as though their own work in dialect was a comic view of black American life, which was not at all how they wanted it portrayed.  This introduction is rich in information about these early poets and could be used to bridge conversations about poetry and history with young students and readers either in the classroom or at home.  Whether these poets explicitly talk about race or not, they are about freedom and some show an unvarnished look at our own shared history.

Poetry for Young People: African American Poetry edited by Arnold Rampersad and Marcellus Blount, illustrated by Karen Barbour, will generate discussion among teachers and students, parents and children, of all ages.  In addition to the historical and biographical information, the editors also offer some detail about poetic form, including haiku, which could be useful to generate classroom exercises among students or just for fun as a family activity.

Book 6 for the Dive Into Poetry Reading Challenge 2014.

 

 

Click below for today’s stop on the 2014 National Poetry Month: Reach for the Horizon blog tour:

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Haiku

April 6, 2014 by

This month, The New York Times put out a call for Haiku about the city. With a deadline on April 5, 2014, I had little time to waste. I haven’t written haiku in a long while, but I do love the little form.

The criteria for the NYC haiku was:

Your haiku must relate to one of six categories relating to New York City. Those topics are:

Island
Strangers

Solitude
Commute
6 a.m.
Kindness

You don’t have to include the word, just let the topic inspire you, and relate it to your experience of New York City.

For those who may have forgotten the rules of writing a haiku, here’s a quick 101 guide:

• Only three lines.
• First line must be five syllables.
• Second line must be seven syllables.
• The third line must be five syllables.
• Punctuation and capitalization are up to you.
• It doesn’t have to rhyme.
• It must be original.

The did leave out the part that Haiku generally has something to do with nature or the seasons, but I won’t hold that against them.

Here is what I came up with, but I only submitted three:

Amtrak thumps rails north
anxious heart, loud silence here.
clammy hand held down.

St. Paul camouflaged
in Spring’s green, shadowed by steel
fulcrum: past, future

Central oasis
spring fever fields full out
below Essex, free

“Imagine,” he said.
blooms, friends — city wonderland
diverse harmony.

Maze of rat tunnels
rumbles on rails, sardines tight.
Jump inside, smiling.

What would your haiku be about NYC or your own location?

This is part of the 2014 National Poetry Month: Reach for the Horizon Blog Tour, click the button for more poetry:

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248th Virtual Poetry Circle

April 5, 2014 by

Welcome to the 248th Virtual Poetry Circle!

Remember, this is just for fun and is not meant to be stressful.

Keep in mind what Molly Peacock’s book suggested.

Look at a line, a stanza, sentences, and images; describe what you like or don’t like; and offer an opinion. If you missed my review of her book, check it out here.

Also, sign up for the 2014 Dive Into Poetry Reading Challenge because there are several levels of participation for your comfort level.

Visit today’s stop on the 2014 National Poetry Month Blog Tour: Reach for the Horizon

Today’s poem is from New European Poets edited by Wayne Miller and Kevin Prufer:

The Barren Woman by O. Nimigean from Romania (page 82)

the barren woman imagines she's giving birth
she twists in the sheets and heaves herself about
she sprawls spraddling her legs against the wall
she thrusts and convulses
runs rivers of sweat
and calls me by name
she even gives birth to me
only she feels how the unseen crown of my head
bursts out through her sex unreceptive to seed
only she hears me gasp and squall
she gnaws my umbilical cord of shadow
and she fondles my head and body
with eager hands

the barren woman licks her faceless whelp
her skinless heartless cub
only she strokes me and knows me
and suckles me on her nut-like pap
I nurse without a sound
and then let slip the delicate nipple and fall asleep
baring my gums and teeth of mist

   translated from the Romanian by Adam J. Sorkin and Radu Andriescu

What do you think?

This is part of the 2014 National Poetry Month: Reach for the Horizon Blog Tour, click the button for more poetry:

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Guest Post: An Introduction to Poetry Friday by Tabatha Yeatts

April 4, 2014 by

National Poetry Month is a big month for the Poetry Friday crowd. What is Poetry Friday? I turned to Poetry Friday regulars to help me explain.

WHAT IS POETRY FRIDAY?

In an article for the Poetry Foundation, Susan Thomsen explains Poetry Friday this way: “Readers, writers, teachers, parents, librarians, homeschoolers, illustrators, and editors share favorite poems for children and adults, link to cool poetry sites, describe readings they’ve been to, and recommend great books about poetry.”

If you think you might be interested but need a little enticement, let me tell you about the variety of things Poetry Friday has to offer:

FOR WRITERS:

It’s where we meet to learn, to teach, to hold each other up on this challenging, not-always-graceful journey to a poem. –April Halprin Wayland

Thanks to this group, I have written all sorts of poems I never could have imagined before. Lots of inspiration! –Irene Latham

I didn’t write poetry for over twenty years, and PF helped me find my voice again. –Renée LaTulippe

There are “friends” out there that I’ve never met, friends who share my enthusiasm for a good poem or who ask interesting questions about writing, art, life, whatever. I don’t care if their friendship comes to me online – that’s fine. Writing can be isolating – and I’m comfortable with my friends arriving via different modes of delivery. I like the connective tissue that gets formed no matter how we meet. –Julie Larios

FOR TEACHERS:

One of the greatest gifts I have received is a community that honors each other. We are full of kindness and acceptance and there isn’t enough of that in the world. Some of us are teachers facing the daily challenges of Common Core and state testing and closed minds. I feel safe in this place we call Poetry Friday. I also feel celebrated. When I post about my students’ work, you always praise me and compliment their work. I can’t tell you what that does to fuel me. I have finally found a group of people as nuts about poetry as I am. –Margaret Simon

It’s where I met ‘my people’ to exchange original poems, poems from mentors and share student poetry. –Jone Rush MacCulloch

One thing I can add since I feel I’m one of the newest Poetry Friday people is how welcoming the community has been to me. I love poetry, and…I was thrilled to find company who were both passionate and knowledgeable. –Linda Baie

I love PF because it allows me share poems I love, find new poems to express my thoughts and feelings, and discover new poets through our PF community. And, I love that the format allows me to write and incorporate visual elements and music. –Tara Smith

FOR READERS/ PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN BEING PART OF A POETIC COMMUNITY:

If you are human with a pulse and a heart, there is a poem for you. Poetry Friday might help you find that poem or inspire you to write your own. 🙂 –Jama Rattigan

I’d also say that the fun of Poetry Friday for me is really in that sense of community – there are others who want to celebrate poetry, and thanks to the web, we can find each other and connect. The weekly tradition – the ritual, almost – helps me think of poetry even when I don’t blog on a Friday, and that’s nice, too. –Greg Pincus

When I first began reading the posts and participating, I had a good base knowledge of children’s poetry and a true interest. But in the last year, I have learned so much more and my interest has grown tremendously! I’ve also “met” so many wonderful, intelligent, talented writers that I am now thrilled to call friends. It is truly a special community! –Becky Shillington

Don’t be afraid to jump right in! It’s such a welcoming, supportive community. I haven’t encountered a warmer or more passionate group of poetry-lovers anywhere on the web or otherwise. It’s the highlight of my blogging week. –Irene Latham

As I’m getting back into posting and visiting at least SOME of the many wonderful posters each week, it feels like coming home… Thank you, all of you, for *being* Poetry Friday! –Laura Purdie Salas

For someone new, I say, “Welcome!” If you like poetry – even a little – join us. If you are afraid of poetry, join us. If you love poetry, join us. –Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH COMMENTING?

When I started posting on Poetry Friday a few years ago, I learned it takes a little while to attract regular commenters, and it’s worth the effort to get to know this generous community. Leaving a heartfelt sentence or two in response to other blog posts is a great way to get and stay involved. –Robyn Hood Black

I comment from the heart – whatever my response may be. I love reading comments to discover other thoughts, interpretations, reactions – these are so much fun, for they make you look at the poem in a completely different way. –Tara Smith

Comment on what strikes you, and if you do not have a blog, consider beginning one for your own poetry findings and explorations. –Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

WHAT ARE POETRY FRIDAY POSTS LIKE?

There’s a huge range of what you can do. You can share a poem, a song, a poetry book. You can put as much or as little effort into it as you can spare. Here’s a small selection so you can see a bit of the variety. Also, feel free to make the rounds of this week’s round-up!

Joy begins a poem and invites commenters to add to it

Laura at Author Amok wraps up a month of color poems

Colette discusses students memorizing Invictus

Charles (Father Goose) shares an illustrated original poem

A tea party with poems at Jama’s

A vacation and poetry from Dori

Heidi shares a poem from a non-poetry-centered magazine

Matt talks about revising poems

An original poem by Steven with background info

Ruth talks about Poetry Fridayers at the International Reading Convention
Favorite poems for fictional characters at my blog

HOW DID IT START?

Poetry Friday began in 2006 as the brainchild of Kelly Herold. Blogs who win the longevity award for being a part of Poetry Friday from the start include Check It Out, GottaBook, MotherReader, Poetry for Children, A Wrung Sponge, and A Year of Reading.

WHO CAN DO ROUND-UPS?

Anyone who is willing to gather the links in some way, shape or form. Read more about it at A Year of Reading.

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Poetry for Young People: Robert Frost edited by Gary D. Schmidt, illustrated by Henri Sorensen

April 3, 2014 by

Source: Sterling Children’s Books
Hardcover, 48 pages
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Poetry for Young People: Robert Frost edited by Gary D. Schmidt, illustrated by Henri Sorensen, is intended for younger readers (ages 8+) and the illustrations serve to maintain their interest, allowing them to visualize the topics Frost has set forth in his verse.  These illustrations in this book take on a water-color feel, and are reminiscent of Frost’s own love of nature and its mysteries.  The introduction serves as a starting point for teachers or parents, which read in its entirety out loud could be boring for younger listeners.  It would be best to choose a few facts to introduce young readers to the poet and his life.

From “A Patch of Old Snow” (page 34)

There’s a patch of old snow in a corner,
That I should have guessed
Was a blow-away paper the rain
Had brought to rest.

It is speckled with grime as if
Small print overspread it,
The news of a day I’ve forgotten–
If I ever read it.

Frost’s poems are broken into seasonal categories — Spring, Autumn, Winter, and Summer — but there are more poems in the Summer and Autumn sections.  The index at the back of the book makes it easier for you to find particular poems.  However, what is truly helpful are the blurbs that will help direct teachers, parents, and young readers to the specifics of Frost’s poems.  For instance, before reading “An Encounter,” the editor calls attention to the “barkless specter” in the poem, forcing readers to focus on that image and what clues Frost lays forth in the poem as to the specter’s true identity.

Poetry for Young People: Robert Frost edited by Gary D. Schmidt, illustrated by Henri Sorensen, does include poems from Frost that have older and more elevated language than younger readers would be used to, but exposing these readers to more challenging language and poems can enable them to broaden their vocabulary.  My daughter may be too young to read these on her own, but she often listens while doing other things when I read these aloud, and she loves flipping through the pictures and asking me what the images are.

About the Poet:

Robert L. Frost was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in America. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech.

 

About the Editor:

Gary D. Schmidt is an American children’s writer of nonfiction books and young adult novels, including two Newbery Honor books. He lives on a farm in Alto, Michigan,with his wife and six children, where he splits wood, plants gardens, writes, feeds the wild cats that drop by and wishes that sometimes the sea breeze came that far inland. He is a Professor of English at Calvin College.

Book 5 for the Dive Into Poetry Reading Challenge 2014.

This is part of the 2014 National Poetry Month: Reach for the Horizon Blog Tour, click the button for more poetry:

Filed Under: challenges, Dive Into Poetry 2014, Events, national poetry month, poetry, Read in 2014, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

New European Poets edited by Wayne Miller and Kevin Prufer

April 2, 2014 by

Welcome to the 2nd day of the National Poetry Month Blog Tour!

I thought that as so much of National Poetry Month seems to focus on classic poets or contemporary U.S. poets, I would review an anthology of contemporary European poets and their poetry. I hope you’ll click the button below to visit with Laura at Book Snob as well.

Source: Public Library
Paperback,
I am an Amazon Affiliate

New European Poets edited and introduced by Wayne Miller and Kevin Prufer is an anthology of European poetry since 1970.  Each poet selected was translated and each poem has the language from which it was translated and the name of the translator below.  Unfortunately, this anthology does not include the poem in its original language, which some readers would prefer as it gives a visual comparison between the texts.  However, the collection does include the short biographies of the poets included, the translators — to which the anthology is dedicated — and the editors, which provides a great reference for finding more of these authors’ works.

Reading through the poems in this collection is like traveling the undulating and varying landscapes of Europe, with climbs through the mountains, sitting in lounges by the seaside, and hunting in the dark forests.  Many of these poems mirror those that are found in American contemporary poetry, but then there are others that are distinctly European in subject matter and style.  In the introduction, the authors talk about the dialogue between poets in American and those in Europe — how poetry informed each style on either side of the Atlantic.  However, that dialogue has mostly stopped, and the authors strive to rekindle that dialogue with this anthology, a real possibility as more reader-poets pick up this volume and begin leafing through it.

From Spain's Luis Garcia Montero's "Poetry"

"Poetry is useless, it serves only
to behead a king
or seduce a young woman." (page 13)

In fact, this collection serves to disprove this early statement in the poetry anthology. Poetry is more than political protest and seduction — it is a connection of the human spirit and an observation of the human condition.  Ranging from the irreverent in “Kiss My Corpse” by Gür Genç of Cyprus to the heartbreaking emptiness of “The Barren Woman” by O. Nimigean of Romania, these poems share a range of emotions that are universal but in a style that is fresh and inviting.

Each poem leaves the reader — more so an American reader — with a sense of understanding and awe and a new way of thinking not only about emotion, life, and living, but also of poetry itself.  New European Poets edited and introduced by Wayne Miller and Kevin Prufer is a collection that should be savored and returned to again and again over time.  Spend a day in one country or two, but visit them often and with an observant eye.

Book 4 for the Dive Into Poetry Reading Challenge 2014.

 

 

14th book for 2014 New Author Challenge.

 

 

 

5th book for 2014 European Reading Challenge; these poems are from a number of different countries, but since the ones that most resonated with me were from Hungary, that’s the country I’m choosing for this one.

This is part of the 2014 National Poetry Month: Reach for the Horizon Blog Tour, click the button for more poetry:

Filed Under: 2014 European Reading Challenge, borrowed copy, challenges, Dive Into Poetry 2014, Events, Graywolf Press, national poetry month, New Authors Challenge, poetry, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2014, reviews Tagged With: , ,