Simic & Gluck

I've spent some time last night reading Charles Simic and Louise Gluck.I received two poetry books in the mail courtesy of a very kind friend. I have not been especially familiar with Simic till recently and had only read a couple of his poems. A Wedding in Hell is the book I am reading and I bravo! to his work. I've read only about 8 of the poems so far and hope to sit down with the book again this evening.

I particularly enjoy Simic’s blending of simple things with a more complex storyline.
Two poems I have especially taken pleasure in have been Tattooed City an Miracle Glass Co.

As for Louise Gluck, I've read more of her in the past. I did read a maybe three or four poems from her book Descending Figure and they were only first reads, but I found these to be a bit different from another book of her I have and I rather prefer what I've seen in this one.

Kumin's Extraordinary Rendition

In reading from the Pushcart Prize XXXI Best of the Small Presses I was interested in Maxine Kumin's poem Extraordinary Rendition that appeared in originally in The American Poetry Review.

Maxine Kumin deals with a provocative topic. The final stanza: Extraordinary how the sun comes up / with its rendition of daybreak, / staining the sky with indifference.

She utilizes the oak and beech tree leaves - their lingering bruised colors, creating a very powerful visual.

Quick Update from Recent Reads

I've fallen behind on my list here. Just a few to update from recent reads that I recall.

• Anne Sexton, Several from her books Love Poems and All My Pretty Ones.
• Alan Britt
• Erin York
• Steve Gehrke
• Susan Terris (great poem that won a Pushcart Prize)
• W.S. Merwin
• Kay Ryan
• Missi Rasmussen