I just spent the better part of 3 hours reading the magazine cover to beautiful back cover. I am hard put to tell you how good this volume is! Suffice it to say, it is superb. I will highlight a few things that were heart-stoppingly wounding or spirit-lifting songs.
1. Marlene - her choice of neighboring words. Her Poem For The Winter Solstice grabbed me by the throat and held me hostage all the way though it.
2. David - It seems to me that he lives in a totally sentient universe and houses himself inside nature as a conscious witness. This is borne out by his words “the Red-Tail who contemplates the world and thinks it down to its bones.” That describes David for me.
3.Patrice - That poem, From the Diary of a Lunatic, has vast vision, the moon drinking the stars. The way she plays with light in her work. Ingenious.
4. Henri - It is delightful that you are featuring great poets like Hafiz and now this collection.
"and not kind-"
It is a treat to read and also appreciate what a lovely job the translators have done…I do not read French but the poetry flows so beautifully you know it is good translating.
5. Miriam - i am a fan. Have been since first reading her in Cholla, then trading books with her so that I have her poetry nearby. Her poems take me to the cliff edge of longing and throws me over. - "something unnamable and not kind-" I am slain.
6. Bonnie (myself) - delighted to be in the company of such talented poets.
7. Tobi- Prose and poetry…both electric.
8. Caryn - I find that Beacon is my favorite of her pieces. The way she equated the personal gaze with a beacon so that it becomes anthropomorphic is powerful. I was dazzled by it. Blade captured that universal dance we do with the pain of existence. She centers us right in it - we are drawn toward the cutting with her, feel the release of inner pain and are drawn again to press against the blade. Stunning, raw, honest.
9. Terry - The Cold of Winter-time: This one hit me. Perhaps aging is the reason or perhaps it is because the poem so tenderly touches her with love. I enjoyed all of his poems very much. There is great pathos in the way he deals with death, life, love…all good.
10. Noreen - Hands down, her poem Singing Snakes of the Mojave is my favorite piece of the whole book. I was astounded by it and sat still for a long, long time after reading it! And her cover painting…jeez.
11. Peter - This was a wonderfully crafted story. The way he has the characters speak their parts is a great method. It is like a play within a story and the story is terrific. I kept anticipating disaster but no, Peter starts with the disaster and builds to an unexpected happy ending. It was a nail-biter…and the language and dialects he chose for the characters. It was such a great story!!
The art work by deb Ewing & Kathy French was the best ever!!!
Thanks to you, Rich, this volume is pure gold.
Love, Bonnie
