In the spring of 2008 Nigerian poet Obi Nwakanma filled my Gathering Room with talk that made the world right for the hours he shared himself and conversation. In the days that followed our encounter, I stayed in my cave and read “The Horseman and Other Poems,” often calling friends to read sections of the book to them in an effort to contain the fullness they evoked in me.
Read “Credo,” by Nigerian poet Obi Nwakanma –JGR
Here are some learnings that come from the conclusion of Nancy Connally’s Critiquing Case Study: For those giving feedback: 1) Critique the story, not the person. 2) Critique the story on the page that person is writing, not the story in your head that you want written. For those receiving feedback: 3) Have the intestinal…
Finding a Bible in an Abandoned Cabin Poem reprinted from “The Hudson Review,” Vol. LIX, no. 4, Winter, 2007, by permission of Robert Wrigley Under dust plush as a moth’s wing, the book’s leather cover still darkly shown, and everywhere else but this spot was sodden beneath the roof’s unraveling shingles. There was that back-of-the-neck…
Vegetable Love in Texas by Carol Coffee Reposa Texas Poetry Calendar: 2008 Farmers say There are two things Money can’t buy: Love and homegrown tomatoes. I pick them carefully. They glow in my hands, shimmer Beneath their patina of warm dust Like talismen. Perhaps they are. Summer here is a crucible That melts us down…
In this section: 12 poems, 4 photos QUAIL VISITATION Daniel cleaned twin windows facing the mountain. Cleared away grime two years in the making. I cooked supper while he looked out. “What a shame when birds slam into glass.” Then, suddenly, one did. A big sound. Then, down. Tiger prowled the deck to claim his…
When/if we witness one another? Really were present and listened to each other? Affirmed what takes place? What does it look like? What happens within both people and in the relationship?
RUTH THOMPSON LIFE STORY Ruth Evelyn Johnston Thompson (January 4, 1916 to May 1, 2006) was the daughter of Court I. and Grace V. (nee Higgins) Johnston. At the time of her birth they were farming in Elsah Township, Jersey County, Illinois. As Ruth grew up she had two older brothers, Loris and Lloyd, two…