May 20

discussion of Simic: The Wooden Toy (from last week) http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poem/29294
Poetry
 by Joseph Millar


Sonnet by James Kenneth Stephen (1859-1892?)
Durian Fruit by Ronald Wallace (p. 11 of Nimrod International, “Lasting Matters”
The Moment by Theodore Roethke

I have just read "Lasting Matters" published by Nimrod (writers 57 and Over) and enjoyed several wonderful poems --
highly recommend these:
p. 119 Mother of Phobia – Joanne Clarkson
p. 147+8 : two poems by Stephen Dunn
p. 174 Crease of Light
p. 180: A Poem with a Future Longing in it
p. 192: Gertrude: the stein collection

I was intrigued by James Kenneth Stephen's marvellous "golden sonnets" where he incorporates a haiku if you read the last word of each line vertically. He has five of them in this issue.
It is an honor to pay tribute to Joe Millar, one of the fine teachers I had, and to give a plug for the 9th annual "Writing and Knowing" workshop he, Dorianne Laux and Ellen Bass will be hosting at Esalen, CA, August 9.

It was curious to me to see so many of the poems were inspired by epigrams by other poets -- but not up to the mark of the poet quoted except for a few. A good conversation inspired by a venerable poet is worthy of thought. What Anita Skeen wrote (p. 143) in her poem which uses the last line in Roethke's "The Moment" caught my attention -- although they are different in terms of content and certainly in style.