Oh, I love Lucille Clifton. And Naomi Shihab Nye. Sharon Olds, of course, and Dove, and Rich, and Angelou. A couple of personal favorites are Marge Piercy and Jane Kenyon--those two did a lot to help me survive the late 90s, early oughties--personal epiphany, painful growth and change, etc.
Man, you just get darker and darker, and the weird thing is, your aura? Beige.
Host ,'Why We Fight'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Beverly - Nov 26, 2014 4:05:34 pm PST #22861 of 28343
Days shrink and grow cold, sunlight through leaves is my song. Winter is long.
Pix - Nov 26, 2014 4:13:05 pm PST #22862 of 28343
The status is NOT quo.
All of these recs are great! A couple I love whom I don’t think have been mentioned: Linda Pastan and Louise Gluck. And Joy Harjo (not as well known; a Native poet with a beautiful style) and Maxine Kumin.
ETA: A great anthology is No More Masks: [link]
Steph L. - Nov 26, 2014 4:19:33 pm PST #22863 of 28343
this mess was yours / now your mess is mine
Oh my god, yes, Jane Kenyon.
Beverly - Nov 26, 2014 4:58:16 pm PST #22864 of 28343
Days shrink and grow cold, sunlight through leaves is my song. Winter is long.
Let Evening Come can still stop my crazy in its tracks.
And another rec - When She Named Fire: An Anthology of Contemporary Poetry by American Women, by Andrea Hollander Budy
Kat - Nov 26, 2014 6:48:30 pm PST #22865 of 28343
"I keep to a strict diet of ill-advised enthusiasm and heartfelt regret." Leigh Bardugo
Calli, I'd also recommend Tracy K. Smith. She's more contemporary, but Life on Mars is amazing.
Pix - Nov 26, 2014 7:28:43 pm PST #22866 of 28343
The status is NOT quo.
What a completely gorgeous poem, Bev; I’d never read it. Thank you. And I just bought that anthology! Always looking to expand my classroom poetry collection.
Calli - Nov 27, 2014 3:21:32 am PST #22867 of 28343
I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul—Calvin and Hobbs
Thank you all for the great recs!
Ginger - Nov 28, 2014 7:24:47 pm PST #22868 of 28343
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
Ave atque vale. P.D. James [link] I'd say rest in peace, but she certainly never rested while alive. She supported her family, wrote while working full time and had a life of public service that would be notable even without the gift of her writing. I didn't like all of her books, but her craft was undeniable.
Matt the Bruins fan - Nov 28, 2014 9:26:33 pm PST #22869 of 28343
"I remember when they eventually introduced that drug kingpin who murdered people and smuggled drugs inside snakes and I was like 'Finally. A normal person.'” —RahvinDragand
I just ran across this story by Ruthanna Emrys which is a very interesting tale in the setting of Lovecraft's Chthulhu Mythos with an approach I've not encountered before. [link]
erikaj - Nov 29, 2014 8:58:59 am PST #22870 of 28343
Always Anti-fascist!
I was quite a big fan for a while, Ginger.(have sort of lost touch with her work in recent years)