“A glass of papaya juice / and back to work. My heart is in my / pocket, it is Poems by Pierre Reverdy.” – Frank O’Hara, “A Step Away From Them”
I can’t start another blog with “it’s National Poetry Month,” but dudes, I am having a hard time coming up with a good opener. I’m having a little bit of a hard time writing in general lately. Tired? Maybe. Not burned out, though afraid of it. There has been some good poetry happening, and maybe I should accept that editing/writing poetry is a longer, more deliberate process than fiction. Spring is usually a time of depression and downtroddenness, and there have been some personal things happening that make “crafting sentences” a more Herculean task than usual.
This is a long prologue to say that I wanted to close read some poems, like I did with Taylor Byas, Diannely Antigua, and Kinzie Allen poems last year. I think this year’s April columns have been solid—a recounting of Lit For Chicago, a “found poem,” and a roundup of poetic (auto)biographies. Each time I thought about close reading a poem for the blog, though, I felt kinda overwhelmed and incapable. Idk, there’s always back episodes of The Line Break.
Today, I thought it might be nice to recommend some poems. The Poetry Foundation, whatever its various issues, is largely a cool place and a glorious archive, so let’s head over there.
“A Step Away From Them” by Frank O’Hara
One of the poems that made me fall in love with poetry. Josh breezed into class early in my first poetry workshop, read this out loud, and I was absolutely ruined for the rest of my life. Poetry Foundation link.
[I met a dying man] by Diane Seuss
Can’t talk about Frank without bringing up a poem from frank:sonnets. Boy oh boy do I need to re-read that book. Poetry Foundation link.
“It’ll Get Worse Before It Gets Worse” by Joshua Marie Wilkinson
Is there a bigger Frank O’Hara fan on the planet? I’m not sure. Josh remains the best at really wild lines (“And like language, these gestures, or a certain way of nodding / one’s head, it all eases in with less than a breath.”) and really hilariously straightforward ones (“Where are you? // I’m alone on the road / with a dead phone.”) Poetry Foundation link.
“Aubade with Burning City” by Ocean Vuong
If you need an entrypoint into poetry, Ocean Vuong seems to be a pretty popular first poet for people. That is not to say that his work is easy. The attention he gets is well-deserved, and it’s nice to see a truly great poet get the kind of success he has. Poetry Foundation link.
“Independence Day 2010” by Hoa Nguyen
I’ve been talking about her enough lately, you should go read one of her poems. Poetry Foundation link.
“The Children Of The Poor” by Gwendolyn Brooks
Speaking of people I’ve been talking about a lot lately, here’s the Gwen Brooks poem that suburbanites hate. Poetry Foundation link.
“This Is How Our Bodies Are Made To Apologize” by Mayda del Valle
Go read Chicago’s Poet Laureate, you will not regret it. Poetry Foundation link.
“Flies Buzzing” by Mark Turcotte
Go read Illinois’ Poet Laureate, you will not regret it. Poetry Foundation link.
“Clinical Thermometer Set with Moonstone” by Alice Notley
Never bad idea to read Alice Notley and consider the poetics of family. Poetry Foundation link.
“Crossing” by Jericho Brown
I’ve only read one book by Jericho Brown, and I feel like I need to remedy that. He’s one of those “on a different plane” poets, very spiritual. “Long as the sea. I’m more than a conqueror, bigger / Than bravery. I don’t march. I’m the one who leaps.” is such a way to end a poem. “Thank God / I’m different” is a little enjambment to put in your pocket, carry around like chapstick. Poetry Foundation link.
“75 [“Wake, butterfly”] by Bashō
You gotta read Bashō. Haikus turned me off until I read Bashō. Read some Bashō. Poetry Foundation link.
Enjoy some poems! Break the algorithms! Read a book! Go outside!
Sorry you got an email,
Chris