Poet, Writer, Instructor
Blog posts about “Sticks & Stones,” my newsletter about poetry, art, book reviews, and the reading life.
There’s a problem in the literary world: we don’t have enough good, thoughtful criticism from literary citizens. Anyone who enjoys reading poetry, including poets themselves, can and should write reviews. Writing reviews has added a new skill to my writer’s toolbox, improved my close reading abilities, and brought me new friends in the poetry world. It’s become an important part of my practice.
My bookshelves hold many more poets who have left us: Marvin Bell, Denise Levertov, Wanda Coleman, Seamus Heaney, Donald Hall, Wislawa Szymborska, Tomas Tranströmer, Sylvia Plath, Rainer Maria Rilke. I’ve found solace, insight, and inspiration in these pages. Their poems are so vital, so alive with imagery and emotion, that I must remind myself that while their work continues, the poets themselves are gone. No more will come from them.
In January 2025, Sticks & Stones will begin its seventh year of publishing reviews of poetry collections. The poets whose books I reviewed in 2024 addressed grief and loss, the experience of exile, infertility, and the natural world, of living in the spaces between illness and health, and the power of resilience. They wrote of… Continue reading Sticks & Stones: 2024 Book Covers and 2025 Reviews
In January 2024, Sticks & Stones will begin its sixth year of publishing reviews of poetry collections. Reviewing collections of poetry continues to fascinate me. When I'm deep in a book, I enter a trance-like state. Time slows down as I absorb the lines these poets have so carefully assembled. This is one of the… Continue reading Sticks & Stones: 2023 Book Covers and 2024 Reviews
Here's to another year of celebrating poetry! 2020 was another amazing year for poetry. Each one of the books I reviewed for Sticks & Stones moved me, from Abby E. Murray's poignant descriptions of being an army wife to Nicole Stellon O'Donnell's depictions of life as a teacher in the remotest parts of Alaska. Due… Continue reading Sticks & Stones: The Third Year
Here's to another year of celebrating poetry! Each one of the books I reviewed in 2019 moved me in unique and unforeseen ways, from Shaindel Beers' harrowing escape from an abusive marriage to Cynthia Anderson's evocative descriptions of the Mojave Desert. These books went with me on road trips, to waiting rooms and hotel… Continue reading Sticks & Stones: The Second Year