Poetry Readers Challenge discussion

I am a member of a small book club called Books, Burgers and Beer...it consists of 3 people including myself. We read a variety of things though mostly non-fiction and typically science oriented but this time, because of this upcoming event, we have decided to read poetry.

All of us are going to this reading and I have to say, I am pretty excited....
https://www.gvsu.edu/gvnow/article-in...

I currently have the following books out from the library to read prior to the event...
Bright Dead Thingsby Ada Limon and Quiver of Arrows: Selected Poems, 1986-2006 by Carl Phillips

This sounds amazing. How was it, Darrin? I like Limon's poetry a lot.

I'm a big Limon fan, too.

My weekend was busy and I did not have time to respond but I will soon.

My apologies. My day job has left me lazy and apathetic when I come home from work and, outside of reading and other things which do not take too much concentrated thought when I get home, I have not made an effort to respond. It has been a month long crunch at work and one of our busiest times of the year.

This reading was my first and it was really cool (I'm a child of the 60s and 70s, what can I say...). First, Ada Limon, for me was the best. She read perhaps 12 to 15 poems (I lost count) and she told interesting stories and explanations of each in between her readings. One of my favorites was Tattoo Theory from Bright Dead Things....

Tattoo Theory

My own personal map of America on the back of the airplane seat
where the cartoon plane tells you where you’ve been and where
you’re going is, for some reason, in Spanish. So it reads Montes Apalaches.
And I like the way it sounds. But the shape of Nebraska is still the same
despite the translation; it looks like a sad animal with his head hangdog low.
Just countable days ago, we drove through that sad dog place and the boys
wanted tattoos of the state’s outline. Nebraska! Nebraska Forever! Yeah!
I love the keeping of it, the wanting to keep it, but maybe not on my body.
What if I love another state more? What if I love the Montes Apalaches?
What if I stop remembering? What if here’s where I want to keep it,
here’s my permanent puncture, here’s my unstoppable ink.

ADA LIMÓN

After reading, Ada Limon, became choked up as she explained why she does not want a tattoo but, rather, uses ink in a different way...writing poetry on a paper. The story she told had to do with her mother and a massive injury her mother suffered from an explosion when she was younger. It is not something I can repeat here and do any justice to but the story was moving and her poetry, in general, is accessible and, for me, her reading was the best part of the evening.

And then there was Carl Phillips...he was...bashful? He was awkward and self-deprecating and would complete reading a poem and then immediately explain how he didn't talk between his poems, which was actually pretty funny and everyone laughed...but he is a bit of a character and it was difficult to know when he was even done reading the poem, especially if, like me, you are unfamiliar with his poetry. I still have his collection, Quiver of Arrows, here on my living room table but I am not sure if I will get to it before I need to return it to the library.

I have to admit, because I hate that feeling that I am being pretentious or feeling like I am pretending to understand something when I really don't...free verse poetry like the poetry of Carl Phillips leaves me with the feeling that I totally missed the meaning...

Sometimes I will read a poem by someone like Carl Phillips and totally get it at the end but most of the time I am scratching my head, reading, re-reading and perhaps, reading again and still left wondering.

There, I admitted it...

Reading poetry on a regular basis is new for me and, I am sure as I read more, it will become more accessible to me but that night, Ada Limon had my attention and my understanding, Carl Phillips, not so much.

In the end, I bought Ada Limon's book of poetry, Sharks in the Rivers, and stood in line long enough to briefly speak to her...I was a bit of a dork and felt like I was some sort of fanboy....and she signed my book.

So now I am also a Limon fan.

Thanks for the great story, Darrin. I'm a fan girl without meeting her.

Darrin wrote: "My apologies. My day job has left me lazy and apathetic when I come home from work and, outside of reading and other things which do not take too much concentrated thought when I get home, I have n..."

Thanks so much for giving us this thoughtfully honest and detailed event recap, Darrin. I don't think I've seen either of these poets perform in person, so I was fun experiencing the reading through your eyes :-)

Come to think of it, I'd love to see the newspapers publish more poetry reading recaps, the way they publish theater reviews, etc.!

Grand Valley State University here in Grand Rapids will have another Fall Arts Celebration this year and will, as usual, have a poetry readings component. This year the poets are Ellen Bass and Kevin Young.

Our little club of book geeks, Books, Burgers and Beer, discussed it this evening and we are already planning on going. Here is more information in case you are interested....

https://www.gvsu.edu/fallarts/poetry-...

I’ve heard both of them read. I’m sure you will enjoy it.

Darrin wrote: "Grand Valley State University here in Grand Rapids will have another Fall Arts Celebration this year and will, as usual, have a poetry readings component. This year the poets are Ellen Bass and Kev..."

I love that you've got your book group on board! Looking forward to reading your recap :-)

Jenna, they are not on board with me, I am on board with them. Last year was the first time I had gone to this and they were the ones suggested we go. One of them is the provost and the other is a geology professor for the university. Now I can't wait for the dates to be announced each year.

Darrin wrote: "Grand Valley State University here in Grand Rapids will have another Fall Arts Celebration this year and will, as usual, have a poetry readings component. This year the poets are Ellen Bass and Kev..."

I have been sadly neglectful of poetry of late. Keeping up with reading generally has been difficult but poetry most of all. I am finally starting to catch my breath, however, and let me see if I can get back up to speed.

So, first, I went to see Ellen Bass and Kevin Young and it was great. Ellen Bass was the headliner I guess and she has both wonderful poetry and is a pleasure to listen to. Of course, I had to buy Like a Beggar when the reading was done and finished it about a month ago. I have promised myself I will do a review, even though several of our members have already done so.

Oddly, I like Kevin Young's poetry also, but, he seemed to be having an off night. He stumbled a little bit with some of his own poems and seemed to rush through his reading. He does not have to apologize for his poetry but he announced at the beginning that he felt it was hard to follow Ellen Bass. Perhaps this threw him off his game or intimidated him in some way but in the end I did not enjoy his reading as much as I thought I would.

Thanks for helping me feel like I was there with your great recap, Darrin!

If you are fans of Amanda Lovelace or Cyrus Parker, they are doing a virtual reading on Saturday, April 4, 2020 via Instagram. More information can be found here: https://www.anunlikelystory.com/event....