Happy National Poetry Month!

April is National Poetry Month, and it makes me reflect on how people seem to perceive poetry.

They think it's hard.

I can see that. People think if you read poetry, it's because you "get it." There's some sort of key you must carry around your neck that unlocks the mystery that is a poem.

And yet they never seem to think that about prose, whether it's novels or non-fiction. (James Joyce is an exception.)

Despite my degree in poetry, or maybe because of it, I can tell you: there is no mystery.

Sometimes you get it, sometimes you don't. Sometimes it's good, other times not. And the best part about it? I could be wrong. I listened to people speak about a poem I wrote like it was an incredible piece of literature and I laughed: it was simply a poem about my cat. It was a good poem about my cat, and I could see why they went where they did, but it wasn't what I intended. That's the magic about it: sometimes a cat is just a cat, and sometimes she's a lonesome, disconnected besheret lingering in the shadows at midnight.

I recommend my favorite book of poems: The Moon is Always Female by Marge Piercy. Whenever I'm tense or in a situation where I need comfort from the written page, I reach for this book. I get it, and I am not alone when I am with Ms. Piercy.

So, in honor of National Poetry Month, I give you a poem by Billy Collins I stumbled across while perusing The Writer's Almanac. I think it captures the angst of reading poetry. Enjoy, and go read a poem!

Introduction to Poetry

I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.

by Billy Collins
from The Apple That Astonished Paris. © University of Arkansas Press, 1996.

Chris' Top Five Fave Summer Reads

With the late Mr. Juster's birthday in the so-recent past, I celebrated my favorite book of his and wondered what books I would want with me if I was on the beach — of a desert island, or in the midst of holiday revelers.

These are books I have read. Some are oft read, some aren't because I have shared them. The list of books I have yet to read for the summer will follow soon!

The Phantom Tollbooth
This novel is perfect to share with readers of all ages. It's classified as juvenile fiction, but as fans of Harry Potter know, "juvenile" is in the eyes of the beholder. Norton Juster creates a fabulous world that can be taken on many different levels, depending on the reader's age and maturity (which can be mutually exclusive).

Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife
Readers might want to take along a dictionary when they read this wonderful novel, but it's not really necessary. Linda Bertoll is very clear, no matter her vocabulary. As one fellow reader put it: He takes her again, and again, and.... You get the gist. It's a great romp for the reader as well. One always wanted to see how the Darcys wound up — and now one does.

No Angel
Romance, sex, intrigue, consuming passion, family obligation, wealth, loyalty, wartime — and enough to last for more than a single generation! Penny Vincenzi wrote the perfect Fluff 'n Trash™ story that has the interest and energy to last for three books. I have recommended this book many a time since my friend Kathy introduced me to it, and every person has instantly read the subsequent novels. Now, I myself have read only the first book in the trilogy, but I can't wait to read the rest. I might have to alter this list to include all three novels!

The Moon is Always Female
I love poetry, and this volume really speaks to me. Marge Piercy can be a little heavy-handed, but I like her language, rhythm and line breaks — not to mention her sentiment.

Wicked
I thought I knew the story of Oz — that is, until Gregory Maguire got a hold of it. The Wickedest Witch There Ever Was: was she really wicked? Says who? And why? Under some circumstances, one does not delve. For example, when Dr. Seuss tells readers no one knows why the Grinch was grinchy, one should believe him and not delve into live-action Whoswapping. However, when Maguire raises the question, readers want to know — and see differently what was once clear. (This book is not the musical, and vice versa. Both are fabulous in their own rights, but they are not the same. Trust me.)


And to be fair, here are Some Books that Don't Belong on This List (in no particular order — and not because they're not good, because some of them are!): Jude the Obscure (come to think of it, anything by Thomas Hardy) • Middlesex • The Last Templar • House of Sand and Fog • A Good and Happy Child • The Somnambulist • and more....

Let me know what you would (or would not) put on your list.