If you haven’t yet, it is time to read Wild Honey, Tough Salt, the latest collection of poetry from Kim Stafford. Whatever ails you– this is your medicine.
With Wild Honey, Tough Salt, Kim Stafford once again shows himself a poet for the people. With his clean lines and approachable lyricism, Stafford invites readers to join him, to sit in attention and observe our world as well as our own hearts.
These poems of living are gathered up in four sections. In Economy of Miracles, the poems wander, from New Orleans to British Columbia, Bhutan to Port Townsend, observing life in a world of difficulty. The poems of The Torturer’s Wife explore the darkness in humanity. Here children must learn about war and we consider the life of the suicide bomber. In Lost Leaves of Earth, poems of nature and wonder bring light to our shared pain. Finally, the poems in Marriage in Dog Years turn the poet’s eye inward, to home and family, the pleasures and intimacy of shared life. Stafford’s work reads like an invitation to citizenship, stewardship, and self. This is poetry that asks nothing and everything of us. That accepts and loves us, asks us to rise simply by paying attention.
Kim Stafford is one of our great regional treasures. Named Oregon’s Poet Laureate last year by Governor Kate Brown, Stafford has since been traveling the state to share his poetry and to listen for the poetry in the lives of others. If you have the chance to catch an appearance, it is always worth your time. If not– Wild Honey, Tough Salt is available from Red Hen Press now.
–Tina Ontiveros, Klindt’s Booksellers, The Dalles, OR
Find healing books at Klindt’s Booksellers and other independent bookstores.