Each week, I attempt to introduce you to something new — a song I’ve heard or a band I’ve fallen for, a beer and food pairing that I’ve enjoyed, or a poet or writer that I know about but you may not. In the latter category, it seems, I have been focused mainly on the deceased,… Continue reading Tell Me Again, Hayden…
Tag: Hayden Carruth
Of Poems and Promises, Meatloaf, Memories, and the Pleasures of Failure
No one likes to fail. And yet everyone does, every once in awhile. Falling flat on your face is part of being human, though rarely is it anything but terribly embarrassing and painful. I have enough self-respect (well, enough left these days) to know that not trying — a nonattempt, so to speak — is… Continue reading Of Poems and Promises, Meatloaf, Memories, and the Pleasures of Failure
What He Writes About When He Writes About Us: Rediscovering Ray Carver
I’m not sure when I first encountered the work of author Raymond Carver. Or how, for that matter. It was likely through a class assignment, in high school or college, to read one of his short stories. Or it may have been a recommendation by a friend to read some of his poems. (I suspect… Continue reading What He Writes About When He Writes About Us: Rediscovering Ray Carver
The Use of Used Bookstores
I prefer used books. There, I said it. Now, I love a new pair of shoes, even though they often require enduring a short, uncomfortable breaking-in period. And although I have triumphed upon finding a distinctive shirt or sportcoat at a gaudy vintage clothing store, I haven’t had the urge to shop that way in more than 10… Continue reading The Use of Used Bookstores
Reviving Oppenheimer
I was turned on to the poems of Joel Oppenheimer right out of college, and I have turned back to them time after time — for inspiration, for amusement, for the heck of it — every year since. Oppenheimer, who will have been dead 20 years this October, was an important figure in late 20th Century literary circles,… Continue reading Reviving Oppenheimer
So Little Poetry in Poetry
I recently picked up several copies of Poetry magazine, the grand old dame of American poesie. I used to read the magazine whenever I could, with great interest and delight, always with the hope of finding some inspiration and, perhaps, even some glimmering aspiration. And why not? The list of contributors over its 90-plus-year history serves… Continue reading So Little Poetry in Poetry