I seem to be in rarified company (as far as age goes) when it comes to poets; Seamus Heaney also turned soixante-dix this month. In this morning’s L.A. Times Tim Rutten wrote an op-ed piece about Heaney and the value of poetry: In a recent interview, Heaney said he was often asked what the value…
Fooling Around with Poems
Fooling Around with Poems
Seeing Mary Oliver
by Barbara Abercrombie • • 14 Comments
I’m of two minds when it comes to readings by my favorite writers – our relationship is on the page, why go see them in person? On the other hand, I’m curious. Mary Oliver came to Royce Hall at UCLA last night and I went along with my first thought in the beginning – I…
Fooling Around with Poems
The Fifth Week of Class: Poetry
by Barbara Abercrombie • • 3 Comments
Why fool around with poetry when you have no intention of ever writing poems? Because reading poetry and trying your hand at writing poems will make you a better writer. You’ll learn the power of few words, the weight of just one word. You’ll learn to cut to the chase. You’ll create images and maybe…
Fooling Around with Poems
A Gift From Rumi Via Rabbi Julie
by Barbara Abercrombie • • 4 Comments
I found this poem by Rumi on my student Julie’s website. I think it’s a great poem for writers – the idea of inviting your emotions in, even "a crowd of sorrows", letting your deepest feelings guide your writing. _____________________________________________________________ Guest House by Rumi This being human is a guest houseEvery morning a new arrival.A…
Fooling Around with Poems
Limes and Other Details
by Barbara Abercrombie • • 2 Comments
April is national poetry month and you can sign up to receive a poem a day from the Academy of American Poets (poetnews@poets.org) and also at Knopfpoetry@info.randomhouse.com. The following poem by one of my favorite poets, Anna Akhmatova, arrived this morning by e-mail. Even if you aren’t into poetry you can learn a lot from…
Fooling Around with Poems
True Self Help
by Barbara Abercrombie • • 3 Comments
Two readers of this blog have sent me poems that I realize offer not only inspiration to those of us who read and write poems, but inspiration for reading any literature and for attempting to do anything creative in life. The titles of the poems are like bookends: "How To Read A Poem" (by Lloyd…
Fooling Around with Poems
Happy Thanksgiving
by Barbara Abercrombie • • 0 Comments
Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate it. Here’s another wonderful column from Ted Kooser. American Life in Poetry: Column 087 BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006 The first poem we ran in this column was by David Allan Evans of South Dakota, about a couple washing windows together. You can find that…
Fooling Around with Poems
Midweek Treat: Ted Kooser’s column
by Barbara Abercrombie • • 0 Comments
I just discovered Ted Kooser’s on-line column that can be picked up for free by newspapers and on-line publications. This week he has a wonderful poem by Lisel Mueller. American Life in Poetry: Column 085 BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006 The Illinois poet, Lisel Mueller, is one of our country’s finest writers, and…
Fooling Around with Poems
A Present From the Wall Street Journal
by Barbara Abercrombie • • 6 Comments
You can find things that inspire your writing in the strangest places. This morning I found a quote from a poem in a column in the Wall Street Journal by Peggy Noonan. This is the line she quoted from a poem by William Meredith: “Look hard at the world, they said – generously, if you…
Fooling Around with Poems
Poems That Changed Your Life
by Barbara Abercrombie • • 19 Comments
Last night at a dinner party my friend John asked me to send him a poem that had changed my life. A few years ago he had sent me "The Still Time" by Galway Kinnell, a poem that had changed his life and that he always used when he taught. I’ve used it since then…
