In thinking about the sometimes fine line between poetry and prose, I appreciate William Stafford’s observation: A Certain Amount of Attention It occurs to me as I travel to campuses for readings that many of the people I meet have the feeling that there is a mechanical ability involved in the making of poetry. That,…
As a candidate for my masters degree in English literature at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville in the early 1970s, I co-edited the literary journal there, “Sou’Wester.” One of my poems that appeared there (juried of course by my co-editor) was “Under Mama’s Yew Tree.” Somehow it came to William Stafford’s attention across the country…
Naomi Shihab Nye (Image Credit: Stephen Barclay Agency—Photo by James Evans) As the beauteous Ibtisam Barakat (author of “Taste the Sky”—see post below as well) laid out a table filled with books overflowing with tabbed pages and Naomi Shihab Nye’s wisecracks began to flow alongside her wisdom, we knew we were in for something besides…