Apr 19


Poetry Meme

by Terry 19 April 2007


I’ve been tagged by Sherry Chandler to list poetry collections I recommend. I’m not nearly as literate in the genre as she is, but here goes.

My top 10:

  1. Dance of the Black-Eyed Girl – Sherry Chandler
  2. Colors Passing Through Us – Marge Piercy
  3. Early Grrl – Marge Piercy
  4. The Moon Is Always Female – Marge Piercy
  5. The Crooked Inheritance – Marge Piercy
  6. The Complete Works of ee cummings
  7. Tell Me – Kim Addonizio
  8. Sonnets From the Portuguese – Elizabeth Barrett Browning
  9. Selected Poems – Rita Dove
  10. Poems for the Man Who Weighs Light – Mary (Ernie) O’Dell

These are just the ones I found on the shelf in front of me. Obviously, I’m a big Marge Piercy fan.

Tagged:

7 Comments

7 Responses to “Poetry Meme”

  1. Burrow on April 19th, 2007 6:19 pm

    mmmm I love Marge Piercy  (Quote)

  2. M-dog on April 19th, 2007 6:40 pm

    Not very relevant, but: The Red Wheelbarrow, by William Carlos Williams=Best poem ever. It’s got chickens. And he doesn’t make stuff up. :D  (Quote)

  3. Terry on April 20th, 2007 9:58 am

    I actually got to see her read in Oregon last year, Burrow. She’s amazing.

    Sherry agrees with you on Williams, Mere, but she didn’t mention Red Wheelbarrow. :)  (Quote)

  4. Bluegrass Poet on April 20th, 2007 2:30 pm

    Thank you, Terry. You’ve listed me with some greats and I am made humble. I am not surprised to find the Piercy on your list but I haven’t read much of Addonizo. Some one to place on my list.

    I do love “The Red Wheelbarrow.” I can remember the first time I read it — that would have been in freshman comp at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky. It was in my textbook and I remember the great delight I felt to read it and realize that somehow poetry didn’t have to be always sonorous and heavy. I love it still.  (Quote)

  5. Burrow on April 20th, 2007 3:31 pm

    Ohhh, I am so jealous!

    Woman on the Edge of Time is hands down my favourite book.  (Quote)

  6. Terry on April 20th, 2007 8:01 pm

    Poet, Addonizio writes a lot about poverty, despair and recovery from alcohol and depression. She really speaks to me. This is my favorite from “Tell Me.”

    What Do Women Want?

    I want a red dress.
    I want it flimsy and cheap,
    I want it too tight, I want to wear it
    until someone tears it off me.
    I want it sleeveless and backless,
    this dress, so no one has to guess
    what’s underneath. I want to walk down
    the street past Thrifty’s and the hardware store
    with all those keys glittering in the window,
    past Mr. and Mrs. Wong selling day-old
    doughnuts in their cafe, past the Guerra brothers
    slinging pigs from the truck and onto the dolly,
    hoisting the slick snouts over their shoulders.
    I want to walk like I’m the only
    woman on earth and I can have my pick.
    I want that red dress bad.
    I want it to confirm your worst fears about me,
    to show you how little I care about you
    or anything except what
    I want. When I find it, I’ll pull that garment
    from its hanger like I’m choosing a body
    to carry me into this world, through
    the birth-cries and love-cries too,
    and I’ll wear it like bones, like skin,
    it’ll be the goddamned
    dress they bury me in.  (Quote)

  7. Terry on April 20th, 2007 8:11 pm

    That’s a wonderful book, Burrow. Also high on my list is Vida.

    I wrote about meeting her here, if you’re interested.  (Quote)

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