We started things hot and only got hotter. First I read To Elsie by William Carlos Williams. History can teach us what happened, but poetry lets us feel the past. And this WCW poem is both sad in its applicability to day but perhaps comforting in a way as well.
Trevor Kuether came to the rescue this week with his poem:
I think it’s the poem we all needed. Unlike all the hot takes this week, Trevor took the time to get into our psyche. This is my new favorite poem of his.
Deborah Kay Kelly had also a nice poem with:
X. P. Callahan said this was a “political” poem done right and I think I agree. A clear image, just a single phrase that really sharpens the knife. Very nice poem Deborah, I enjoyed it.
Then I read Edward.Marlo.Ruiz ‘s poem:
I like the leaping imagery in this one and there is some nice word art so go check out the post.
I’m always a fan of Simon ‘s nature poetry and he wrote:
which puts the form vs formless poetry debate to an end! Or continues it? I think there is more going on here than it seems, which is very Simon.
And lastly, I couldn’t let an opportunity like this go by. When you are called out in name by another poet, I am compelled by the laws of poetry, to read it.
Simona's Stories wrote:
and I felt the steam on the camera lens after this one. The comments in the chat were alive after this one.
So Simona, thank you for this. It’s quite a nice thing to write poems for other poets here. I’ve done this in response to inspiration from other poets on Substack and I feel like we should do this more often. There is nothing wrong about talking about dead poets, but sadly Robert Bly can no longer appreciate the kind words I say about him.
Authors here like Graeme McAllister are taking time to elevate their colleagues. Tim Jagodzinski is also another one. But you don’t have to reviews or recaps, Rasmus Rosenkrantz has been in constant collaboration with colleagues with his Art House Poetry. I saw what Abby Schleifer was doing with her Paint Chip Poetry and I just jumped in. Jon Murphy is celebrating a one year substack birthday and is bringing attention to quite a few people who have helped him. There are many more of you as well.
This is not simple flattery. These are all our peers. Online life is isolating, difficult, and frustrating. I often get too grumpy too quickly about it. But as analog as I am, I will have to admit, I’m very happy to be in this digital community filled with passionate poets.
Thank you all, have a great weekend.
