Member: enkyklios

hey gert, thanks for writing again. if i were to recommend John Berryman, I'd tell you there's only 2 books he's known for, the first, "The Dreamsongs" is the one that defined him and is a great read. You should be prepared: they are dreams of an overintelligent poet and sometimes he's a bit hard to take, but i still love them. the other is his Love Sonnets, a lesser known, but my favorite.

There's a Gary Snyder reader that you might be able to pick up on ebay or used on amazon. I also highly recommend this one.

enjoy,

Tim

posted by Tim_Watkinson at 7:46 am (EST) on Jun 19, 2007

Hello Gert,
nice to hear from you wiht your interesting tale of 'Red Sky' Like you it is many years since I purchased the book, I have always been keen on Sheepdogs, so much more engaging than sheep, don't you think? My memory of the book is that it was not very good! though I can not recall why I came to this conclusion, will dip into it again to see if the passage of time has improved it for me. Lucky you to meet the author in such wonderful circumstances, I do envy you that and I have always found that possession of the authors signature (I use 'signed' in my tags to denote such titles) greatly improves ones appreciation of the work!
Like you I am keen on camping in the wild and have completed all the Munros in Scotland. I have just walked the 100 mile Teesdale Way from the Pennines to the North Sea finishing about 10 or 12 miles from where I now live in the North East of England. A similar experience I had involved the Scottish outdoor writer Tom Weir, I wonder if you are aware of him. Alas he died not so long ago. Well in my younger days I was a bit of a rock climber and I found myself climbing on Ben Arthur or the Cobbler as it is also known I had just reached the top of our climb and was belaying my partner up, and noticed I was being closely watched by two 'old bods' my partner arrived and as is my wont I immediately changed footwear into comfortable trainers. We started chatting about the route, and I recognised Tom Weir, who confirmed his identity. We had a grand chat about his books and TV work and also his Sister's (Molly Weir) books. We both agreed that 'Shoes Were For Sunday' was her best work, a memory of her childhood growing up in one of the poorer parts of Glasgow. Quite a co-incidence, but not only that the chap who was with Tom was called Laycock and believe it or not he was the climber who made the first recorded ascent of the route we had just climbed. Wonderful. Like you, it would have been nice to have the books signed.
Happy reading and best wishes to you and your family.
Freddy Phillips.

posted by summonedbyfells at 6:34 am (EST) on Jun 10, 2007

Edson should be in there for "Ape" alone. I actually bought "The Tunnel" on the infallible advice of my great Belgian beer-loving friend and other favorite writer, Jeff Encke. Google him and read his poetry online or check out his wonderful deck of cards at http://www.matlub.net/. Can't wait to put another poetry collection of his in my catalog.

posted by enkyklios at 2:47 am (EST) on Jun 8, 2007

I'm shocked that there are only two of us who've favorited Edson. Absolutely shocked.

Actually, come to think of it, I'm really not all that shocked. Viva Edson!

posted by Aerodynamics at 3:01 pm (EST) on Jun 7, 2007

I don't know who the sculptor is, but I saw the statue in Seattle, on the boardwalk not far from the fish market.

Good to be here: I love it. Lots of work to do, though. I'm entering our poetry books right now.

Best,

Gert (Sint-Niklaas, Belgium)

posted by enkyklios at 10:06 am (EST) on Jun 6, 2007