I had to set aside The Mirror and the Light for a bit, in part because I have it as an ebook on my phone, and under the unusual circumstances of voluntary isolation, I had less motivation and interest in looking at my phone. But then late one night I couldn't sleep because I hadn't… Continue reading Reading Roundup: April 2020
Tag: poetry
Reading Roundup: January 2019
The Ten-Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer. I've enjoyed the author's other books, and this one is no exception. The book mostly centers on Amy, a New York mom who grapples with feelings of uselessness as her ten-year-old son becomes more independent, her marriage seems perfunctory, and her former career as an attorney seems impossibly distant… Continue reading Reading Roundup: January 2019
Some poems about apples
Years and years ago, I started a writers' group that met once every three weeks. We'd read and comment on a poem or a piece of short fiction written by one of us, which more often than not led to a piercingly intimate dissection of the bad breaks or bad lovers which inspired us. Then we'd drink several bottles… Continue reading Some poems about apples
Words and Pain: two poems by Miroslav Holub
This post is modified from the original on Peachleaves. When I was teaching an introductory literature course organized around the concepts of comedy and tragedy, one of my toughest sells was that it is possible--desirable, sometimes--to take apart a joke to see what makes it funny. Thinking critically about humor really brought home the overarching… Continue reading Words and Pain: two poems by Miroslav Holub
Get Excited, and Get Lucky
Hello friends. Have a poem for this hot, hot summer day: Getting Lucky With Jamie by Nicole Steinberg If you want to go a tiny bit hipster, here’s how: Grab a romper and go to town on the all-natural train from Jackson Heights to lower Manhattan; mask any contempt for the matchy-matchy girls under your… Continue reading Get Excited, and Get Lucky
NaPoWriMo Week Four Point Five: Sarcastic Sonnets
This is a short week at the end of a challenging month, so I decided to treat myself to some sonnets by Edna St. Vincent Millay. As I used to tell my literature students, Millay offers great break-up poetry--she gives a great kissoff, as in "I being born a woman and distressed," but she also conveys the… Continue reading NaPoWriMo Week Four Point Five: Sarcastic Sonnets
Sara Davis 