I love discovering a new voice in poetry—the voice of a writer whose books I’ll want to read and savor…and recommend to my one friend who shares my passion for poetry.
Finding a “new poet” whose work you love is like opening a wonderful surprise present—one that dazzles you with its beauty or fits you like a glove or opens you to new worlds. Here is a poem by Linda Pastan that expresses my feelings about this subject better than I could ever do.
From A New Poet
by Linda Pastan
Finding a new poet
is like finding a new wildflower
out in the woods. You don't see
its name in the flower books, and
nobody you tell believes
in its odd color or the way
its leaves grow in splayed rows
down the whole length of the page. In fact
the very page smells of spilled
red wine and the mustiness of the sea
on a foggy day-- the odor of truth
and of lying.
You can read the rest of the poem here at Poetry 180.
Over at Wild Rose Reader today I have some thoughts about the Cybils and the children’s poetry books I’ve reviewed this year to date at Blue Rose Girls and at my solo blog.
3 comments:
What a beautiful poem.
Though I must admit, I liked it better where you ended it.
Actually, I like where you end it better, too!
It is always such a great feeling to find a new poet or poem - why these poetry Fridays are fun.
I agree that Poetry Fridays are great for introducing us to new poets. I also love having access to the voices of a myriad of poets at Poetry 180, PoetryFoundation.org, Poets.org, and the website of the Favorite Poem Project.
Maybe you two should write to Pastan and tell her to shorten her poem!
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