Member: georgedavidclark

Hi
I noticed that we (& no other) share copies of David Citino's Book of Appassionata & you also have his collected Poems. I have some of his earlier, small press paperbook of his works. When David Citino passed away, we lost a really good poet. I had met him several times at the Ohioana Awards programs & Ohio Poetry Day & was able to tell him how much I enjoyed - identified with - his poetry. He had MS & wrote a collection of poems about it "Broken Symetry " it's a small paperbook & seems to have slipped somewhere down to the bottom of things. I am not very neat. David was a generation younger than me & you are a generation younger than David. Mary Oliver (yes, I do seem to favor fellow Ohio poets) shares my generation (born in 1930's) I sort of envy you, starting out on your career (& you're making a great start) but I worry about the state of the world. Things seem to be teetering-- I have 6 children (5 living) & grandchildren & great grandchildren. Sometimes I get this urge to just scream at everyone in power "Stop! Look! Listen! Can't you see we're at the edge" I feel like the guy in those old cartoons carrying a sign that says "The end is near". Only now It's not so funny when it might be the truth. Well, good luck in your career in poetry. I'm no Rilke, so this is not a letter.
MarianV

posted by MarianV at 11:13 am (EST) on Feb 14, 2008

OMG, I just noticed the Rothko on this profile page. I'm turning over in my head how to write an essay linking Rothko and Roethke!

posted by TheresaWilliams at 7:06 pm (EST) on Aug 2, 2007

You asked if I had any suggestions about teaching Wright. I highly recommend that you share some of Wright's letters with them. A new edition of his letters came out in 2005, and they are excellent; I collect writers' letters and Wright's are some of the best in my collection, up there with James Agee's letters to Father Flye (and more of them). I do a lot of interactive things with my students. I make documentaries or teaching films using slideshows and Windows Movie Maker. In fact, I made a personal documentary of Wright, using footage I shot at Martins Ferry. Stitt and Graziano did a good job with Wright in their book put out by the U of MI press in 1990. It's a good read.

BTW, I think some new Wright scholarship is sorely needed! Also, the Academy of American Poets has a CD of Wright reading his poems. I always like to play poets reading their works. Sometimes I make vids of the students and set the footage to poetry or music. If you go to my blog you'll see a bunch of these: http://theresawilliams-author.blogspot.c... Oh, and I did read THE ROAD. I agree, it's a fantastic book. I am a slow reader (of anything) and it took me about 4 long evenings to finish THE ROAD. I love the simplicity of the language. I love dark stories, especially ones that are written simply but are richly evocative. I thought about the book for days and dreamed about it.
I hope you have a great class! Just be sure to remember that not all students will be as enthusiastic about what you're teaching as you are. :=)

Are you going to do any Roethke? He is my favorite poet, although I love so many. I teach the Modernists at BGSU. Of them, my favorites are Eliot, Masters (Spoon River), Hart Crane, and Jeffers. I love Pound's dynamic and firey ways.

posted by TheresaWilliams at 10:08 pm (EST) on May 30, 2007

Thanks for the comment. It would be cool to get some time with Glaser. I seem to remember a poem from years ago about hands. It was a kind of love poem. I see you also have "Above the River." I stopped by Martins Ferry during a two month boat journey on the Ohio. You really understand more about the man and his poems after being in that town. I'm trying to write a novel about the journey now. My goal is to finish a draft by the end of summer. Did you enjoy "The Road"? Hope your writing is going well.

posted by TheresaWilliams at 7:47 am (EST) on May 29, 2007

That's a lot of books for a 24 year old MFA student to own! Good luck with the MFA. You are at a great school! I was led here because Glaser's "Winter Amnesties."

posted by TheresaWilliams at 10:46 pm (EST) on May 17, 2007