Books
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The Cruelest Month — Part Two
Stanley Plumly, a poet who served as the poet laureate of Maryland for nine years, died on April 11 from complications of multiple myeloma. He was 79 years old. According to his obituary in the Washington Post, Plumly’s poetry, “drew… Continue reading
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A Hush Now, Linda Gregg
Within four days of each other two of my favorite poets have died: W.S. Merwin on March 15, and Linda Gregg two days ago. Gregg was first introduced to me by my late poet friend, Kathy Mitchell, and yesterday, I… Continue reading
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Thanks, W.S. Merwin
W.S. Merwin, whose poems about the fragility of the natural world and the horrors of the Vietnam War earned him two Pulitzer Prizes and made him one of the preeminent English-language poets of the past five decades, died March 15… Continue reading
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Winter Sleep
Yesterday, much-loved poet Mary Oliver died of lymphoma. She was 83. As NPR posted in its obituary, “Oliver won many awards for her poems, which often explore the link between nature and the spiritual world; she also won a legion… Continue reading
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The Light Within You
This Spark and Spitfire post introduces a new regular feature and category — Sparks — thoughts, excerpts, rants, etc. — inspired by my current reading. What purpose does religion serve in our lives? Why does religion still exist in the 21st century?… Continue reading
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In Cold Texas
On August 11, 2006 — a sweltering Friday night — 16-year-old Amber Wyatt reported that she had been raped in a storage shed off a dirt road in Arlington, Texas. Few believed her. Her hometown turned against her. The authorities… Continue reading
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F-Bomb
Yesterday, David Ignatius, the award-winning columnist for the Washington Post published an editorial about Bob Woodward’s new book, Fear: Trump in the White House. Entitled, “What a Baby,” Ignatius’s editorial shares his opinion about the book and how: Woodward’s recounting of… Continue reading
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Magic Horse
Yesterday I imagined walking into the lobby of the Bread Loaf Inn in the Green Mountains near Middleburg, Vermont to register as a general contributor at the 2018 Bread Loaf Writers Conference. I imagined quickly signing up for the workshops… Continue reading
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Without Donald Hall
Donald Hall, one of my favorite poets and the husband of another of my favorite poets — Jane Kenyon — died this past Saturday. He was 89 — the age my mother was when she died earlier this year. Hall… Continue reading
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The Grace of Books
“Books saved my life,” writes Kevin Powers, a novelist and veteran of the war in Iraq in a recent New York Times column (6/16/18), though he is not sure how they did. “Utterly adrift” since participating “in the fiasco that was the… Continue reading
