By: David Mura for JSTOR April 17, 2024 I Hear America Singing Japanese American poet Garrett Hongo is a guiding spirit to a glorious cacophony, an exuberant collective thrum made of different tongues and peoples. I’ve admired Garrett Hongo, the great Japanese American poet since I first read “Yellow Light” in The New Yorker in 1980. One arm …
For Earth Day and Poetry Month, this is the perfect book! Two Washington creators combine forces in this story of outdoor exploration. Haiku poems from the point of view of a young hiker help us all appreciate being outside together. This book gorgeously encapsulates the experience of hiking as a group of big people and …
Truly the only novel about an MFA poetry program that matters; part parody, part homage, and another Cyrano de Bergerac retelling, this ridiculous farce of collegiate-town manners and betrayal is a heady read. –Ruby, Annie Bloom’s Books, Portland, OR Poetry month theme reading can include novels, too– novels in verse and novels about poetry. Ask for …
This is my favorite kind of non-fiction book—a failure. Which is to say that it isn’t a biography of the influential mid-century poet Frank O’Hara, although it’s full of biographical detail and wise analysis of his life and work. It also doesn’t offer definitive answers about the fraught relationship between distant fathers and their underappreciated …
QUEEN ANNE BOOK COMPANY STAFF FAVORITE / LOCAL POET Site of Disappearance by Erin Malone “Everything I’m afraid of, / I’m about to name,” cautions the speaker of this haunting lyric in the sophomore collection from Washington poet, Erin Malone. Here, buried childhood memories of a brother’s death and a small-town murder return just as …
If you’re a poetry fan, you’ve likely already heard about Judas Goat, Seattle poet Gabrielle Bates’s debut collection. Bates is one of the voices on the Poet Salon podcast, and these last few years her poems have been appearing in some of the nation’s most celebrated literary journals. Judas Goat is thoughtful and foreboding, using …
Mushroom Caps by Abbe Rolnick Rain begins the game The start of a village Our caps protect The undergrowth Spores galore Savor moisture The fungi cushion Caps in all shapes, colors Spread across the terrain A salute to diversity Heals souls We create a village Please click to enjoy this poem on WA author Abbe …
I’ve been collecting this series since it began in 1988, and though my enthusiasm for each volume differs, I love how it’s become an historical artifact of sorts. Each volume features a guest editor (2021 is curated by Tracy K. Smith, Poet Laureate of the U.S. 2017-2019), who, along with their picks for the 75 …
From The Seattle Times April 1, 2022 by Sarah Neilson Please see the full article, with six recommendations here. Below, we share Neilson’s recommendation for Bellingham, WA’s own Caitlin Scarano. “The Necessity of Wildfire: Poems” by Caitlin Scarano (Blair, $16.95; out April 5) This second full-length collection from Scarano, who is based in Bellingham, was …
If You Go Down to the Woods Today is a marvelous book filled with delightful pictures by Hartas and charming quatrains by Piercey. Sure to delight the smaller folk in your house, as well as provide them with a reasonable checklist that they can attain without a significant budget and a passport. –A Good Book, …
