“Hope” is the thing with feathers by Emily Dickinson, from THE POEMS OF EMILY DICKINSON, edited by Thomas H. Johnson, Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Copyright © 1951, 1955, 1979, 1983 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Gibbs Smith: Layton, Utah, 2019; originally published in 1891, believed to have […]
Poetry Reviews
The Road Not Taken
“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, from THE POETRY OF ROBERT FROST: THE COLLECTED POEMS, COMPLETE AND UNABRIDGED, edited by Edward Connery Lathem, New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2002. Henry Holt: New York, 2002; originally published in 1923. From choosing what clothes we wear to the career path we devote our lives to, […]
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost, from THE POETRY OF ROBERT FROST: THE COLLECTED POEMS, COMPLETE AND UNABRIDGED, edited by Edward Connery Lathem, New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2002. Henry Holt: New York, 2002; originally published in 1923. In the spring of 2017, I traveled with my father as he […]
Nothing Gold Can Stay
“Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost, from THE POETRY OF ROBERT FROST: THE COLLECTED POEMS, COMPLETE AND UNABRIDGED, edited by Edward Connery Lathem, New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2002. Henry Holt: New York, 2002; originally published in 1923. I first came across Robert Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay” two-and-a half years ago, nestled […]
This is Just to Say
“This is Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams, from THE COLLECTED POEMS: VOLUME I, 1909-1939, ©1938 by New Directions Publishing Corp. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp. New Directions: New York, 1991; originally published in 1934. “This is Just to Say” is a wonderful and detailed imagist poem by William Carlos Williams. […]
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird
“Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” by Wallace Stevens, from THE COLLECTED POEMS OF WALLACE STEVENS: THE CORRECTED EDITION, edited by John N Serio and Chris Beyers, New York: Vintage, 2015. Vintage: New York, 2015; originally published in 1954. Wallace Stevens was an American modernist poet who was born in Pennsylvania in 1879. He […]
One Art
“One Art” from POEMS by Elizabeth Bishop. Previously published in THE COMPLETE POEMS 1927-1979 by Elizabeth Bishop. Copyright © 1979, 1983 by Alice Helen Methfessel. Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Farrar, Straus and Giroux: New York, 2011; originally published in 1976. We’ve all lost something at some point in our lives, from […]
Baseball’s Sad Lexicon
Warm air, shining flowers, golden sunlight—summer in Chicago. And what summer would be complete without baseball? At historic Wrigley Field in Chicago, baseball has been a central part of summertime excitement for generations. I must confess that I am an avid baseball fan. I watch baseball, play baseball, listen to baseball, and read about baseball. […]
Allowables
Has anyone here ever killed a spider? Actually, I have a better question: has anyone here ever not killed a spider? The battle to keep spiders and other bugs out of the house is a fairly constant one, and most everyone, at some point in time, has found the easiest solution is to simply pick […]
