July 20: Patricia Smith Blood Dazzler 2008 (www.coffeehousepress.org)
This lyric sequence gives tribute to the city of New Orleans in Katrina’s wake. Terrance Hayes writes: “Smith is herself a storm of beautiful, frightening talent.”
Smith is also a slam poetry champion.
August 17: Solmaz Sharif Look 2016 (www.graywolfpress.org)
Of Iranian descent Solmaz Sharif takes on how we talk about war. Her poems are “built” from phrases out of the U.S. Dept of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. (think of Layli Long Soldier’s Whereas).
September 21: Mary Ruefle The Most of It 2008 (wavepoetry.com)
In this book of prose poems, Mary Ruefle imagines the craziest scenarios. Both poignant and hilarious. ( think of Anne Carson’s Short Talks).
October 19: Robert Wood Lynn Mothman Apologia 2022 (http://www.yalebooks.com)
In this book of elegies and persona poems Robert Wood Lynn explores both the opioid crisis across the Virginias and “the experience of growing up, looking away, and looking back.”
November 16: Claudia Emerson late wife 2005 (www.lsu.edu)
“In this collection, Claudia Emerson chronicles the breakup of a marriage into three sections: I. Divorce Epistles II. Breaking Up the House III. Late Wife: Letters to Kent. Heartbreak and healing. (possible inspiration for Sharon Olds Stag’s Leap?)
December 21: Billy-Ray Belcourt NDN Coping Mechanisms Notes From the Field 2019 (www.houseofanansi.com)
In his book Billy-Ray Belcourt “takes on the political demands of queerness, mainstream portrayals of Indigenous life, love and its discontent, and the limits and uses of poetry as a vehicle for Indigenous liberation.”
Bio:
A believer in the collective voice, I hope to gather a chorus of poetry lovers who love to read and reflect on contemporary poetry. As a family doctor, I delivered hundreds of babies, sutured lots of wounds and listened to many hearts literally and figuratively. I am quiet by nature and love getting transported by books and music. Favorite musicians are Jenny Hval, Zoe Keating, Phoebe Bridges and Arthur Russell. My current pile of poetry books include Jenny Xie, Simone White and Maggie Nelson. My leavening agents are my two sons and two year old grandson.