Poetry Friday: James Wright

Since today is Poetry Friday, I point you in the direction of poets.org  for "A Blessing," by James Wright. It's not a children's poem, although I suppose older children might like it. As a Misty of Chincoteague fan, I still appreciate anything that features ponies. Here is the start:

Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota,
Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.
And the eyes of those two Indian ponies
Darken with kindness.

I'm sure that this poem is protected by copyright, so go to poets.org (a.k.a., the Academy of American Poets) to read the rest of "A Blessing." You won't be disappointed.

Earlier this year I tried to read the new book of Wright's letters, A Wild Perfection, but was quickly overwhelmed by his indefatigable style of letter writing; as intelligent and generous as many of letters were, the underlying mania was hard for me to enjoy. If you like reading books of literary letters, I highly recommend Elizabeth Bishop's One Art: Letters, Randall Jarrell's Letters, and Flannery O'Connor's Habit of Being (one of my all-time favorite books). Poetry fans will also enjoy Eileen Simpson's memoir,  Poets in Their Youth, about John Berryman, Robert Lowell, Delmore Schwartz, Jarrell, and crew. (See the old New York Times review.)

More poems and poem talk at Big A little a; Blog from the Windowsill; Book Buds; Bookshelves of Doom; A Chair, A Fireplace and A Tea Cozy; Farm School; A Fuse #8 Production;  GottaBook; Here in the Bonny Glen; Jen Robinson's Book Page; Mungo's Mathoms; Scholar's Blog; The Simple and the Ordinary; So Glad I'm Here; and Susan Taylor Brown. 

Comments

[Gregory K.]

And don't forget Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom (by Leonard Marcus) for a kid lit letter fiesta!

[Susan]

Oh, absolutely. Ursula. I've mentioned that one so many times that it was starting to look as if she was tipping me. From the great beyond.