memorial for a brilliant woman

Friday, April 04, 2008

At last! Talent is rewarded!

My favorite poet (and I hope someday poet laureate) Tony Hoagland has received a major prize. It is well deserved, I am thrilled for him.

Check out his poems online and buy his books- the Fountain Book Store is your best local choice, please buy from small booksellers, do not patronize Amazon, they are trying to shut out small DIY publishers such as Lulu.com (go here for discussions concerning this).

My favorite lines are from Tony Hoagland's poem

Self-Improvement

So the avenues we walk down,
full of bodies wearing faces,
are full of hidden talent:
enough to make pianos moan,
sidewalks split,
streetlights deliriously flicker.


There is so much to be afraid of in this world, so much tragedy is at every turn. These lines by Hoagland remind me of the possibilities new faces can hold, how they might open up something entirely new within me. It's the kind of magic that might make a piano moan, a sidewalk split, or something even more incredible that waits, not in fear or anger, but with beauty and hope

1 comment:

Sandra said...

I agree, Hoagland is a GREAT choice. I wonder if the fact that he has now published a significant work of criticism/essays is helping catapult him to the next level of prominence?

Susan Williams and I are reading at Fountain Bookstore this Thursday--would be great if you could make it out. I'd love to meet you!

Cheers, Sandra