Not there for 2 weeks-- February

Poems discussed Feb. 7:

Never love unlesse you can  by Thomas Campion; Thanks, Robert Frost  by David Ray; Peace and Rain  Zoey Sheffield (age 6); Leaf Removal by Al Ortolani; The Virtue of Trusting One's Mind  by Marcia Slatkin; Monarchs, Viceroys, Swallowtails by Robert Hedin; and two poems he translated: THE CODFISH by Dag T. Straumsvåg; NOT BY CAR, NOT BY PLANE Olav H. Hauge.

"Poetry forges a compassionate pact with the world and, like all enduring pacts, it is one that in the end sustains and confirms–the poet's life, ours, and the great healing powers of language."

~ Robert Hedin https://www.roberthedin.com/

 

This site gives you a taste of his poetry: https://www.roberthedin.com/examples.html

Poems discussed Feb. 14:

A hearty thank you to Barbara for choosing and moderating! 

The Snow Fairy by Claude McKay from Harlem Shadows, 1922; What Kinds of Times Are These? Adrienne Rich; Handbag by Ruth Fainlight (born 1931) First Thanksgiving by Sharon Olds; Eating Together by Li-Young Lee from Rose, Boa Editions; First Snow by Mary Oliver, When I am Among the Trees by Mary Oliver,  Feeling the Way by Julie Hartwig (tr. By John and Bogdana Carpenter, 2008

Apparently it came up that poems should be read and discussed on their merits first, and whatever ethnographic background of the poet might distract from this. Graeme offers this interview for further discussion: https://substack.com/@deanobeidallah/note/c-4960178

Ruth Fainlight:  Handbag:  sense of smell, noted... and does this changed knowing on her website she says," I am a poet who is a woman, not a woman poet." Most writers perhaps are uncomfortable if readers expect them to represent whatever particular group they happen to be in.