This is an older Slate.com article from 2004, discussing Sylvia Plath's book, Ariel and Other Poems, and how the manuscript was altered before publication. I knew some alteration took place, and was probably necessary, after her suicide in 1963 (the book was originally released in 1965), but I didn't realize the extent of the alteration. Anyway, this is a pretty level-headed (and fair to Hughes) comparison of the original with the restored edition by Meghan O'Rourke. Link below, if you're interested.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Poem on Yellow Mama
One of my poems, just published in the Valentine's Day issue of Yellow Mama. A bit more sentimental than my usual fare, but I can't help it~I get mushy when I write about the people I love. Dedicated to my mother, and late stepfather, at the link below:
Check out the other offerings on Yellow Mama if you get a chance! And once again, thank you to editor Cindy Rosmus.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Goodbye, Szymborska
Sad news today, that Poland's 1996 Nobel Prize-winning poet, Wislawa Szymborska, has passed away at the age of 88. Here's a link to the NY Times article:
I studied some of her work during my days at VCFA, and always appreciated her sense of humor. Here's a poem of hers I always liked, called "In Praise of Feeling Bad About Yourself", from 1976:
The buzzard never says it is to blame.
The panther wouldn't know what scruples mean.
When the piranha strikes, it feels no shame.
If snakes had hands, they'd claim their hands were clean.
A jackal doesn't understand remorse.
Lions and lice don't waver in their course.
Why should they, when they know they're right?
Though hearts of killer whales may weigh a ton,
in every other way they're light.
On this third planet of the sun
among the signs of bestiality
a clear conscience is Number One.
Good stuff, and a whole body of stellar work left behind. RIP, lady.
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