WhimsyLand

So,  I had this theory that being in Wisconsin would lend itself to blogging.  Alas, Junie and I spent most of the time enjoying the spring weather, driving to Madison, doing the Atlantic puzzler and reading poetry. 

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Among the poems I liked most in Poetry: 

Bob Hicok, o my pa-pa:  "Our fathers have formed a poetry workshop. / They sit in a circle of disappointment over our fastballs / and wives ..."

Dora Malech, Treasure Hunting:  "Soon to be a low moon and elsewhere / fire.  Lucky mountain shone copper / but not to pocket.  Not that kind of angel / "

Lucillo Perillo, The Garbo Cloth:  "..//Logic says we should make omens of our Garbos and our birds // ..."

There's actually very little poetry in Poetry.  Twenty-seven pages into the issue and you're already at commentary:  Michael Hofmann on Zbigniew Herbert (who I always think was a Secretary of State under Ford or something), Marilyn Robinson on American Religious Poems by Harold Bloom (!) and Jesse Zuba (which sounds strangely like those James Patterson mysteries with Robert Somebody, the latter of whom was the actual ghostwriter).  Exchange is a dialogue between our own Ange Mlinko and David Yezzi, each offering their views on a pair of recent poetry books:  Girly Man by Charles Bernstein, Field Knowledge by Morri Creech. 

The Letters to the Editor were pretty standard fare, but interesting:  Somebody grieves over the lack of formal verse.  Somebody takes D.H. Tracy to task for trivializing Thylias Moss's new book.  Somebody liked that the Valentine's issue was "leavened with comedy".  Somebody loved Alice Oswald's poem in February(me, too).  Someone took issue with Brian Phillip's disdain of Jennifer Michael Hecht's levity. 
 

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I received a new Barrow Street in the mail.  I always love the stuff in BS.  More on that tomorrow.

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In case you've never grown mint, you should know that it kicks ass and takes names and dominates whatever plot you plant it in.  Catnip is a form of mint, actually, and does about the same.  I have some in an herb pot and have had to trim back its dozen tendrils and numerous flowering parts.  These I put in a pile on the counter for Emily to luxuriate in.  She's been at it for 30 minutes, and I expect she will have the munchies any time now.

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I’ll be reading on KRFC on Dona Stein’s Poetry Show on Sunday, 6 May, at 6PM MDT, 88.9 FM.  Also available via Internet at http://krfcfm.org/stream/.  I haven't read on the radio since being on Bear's Out of Our Mind.  I suppose I'll have to collect up a bunch of radio-friendly, accessible stuff.  Think good thoughts and I'll try not to screw it up.