Member: joannasephine

Hi, Joanna. :) I haven't read Thornspell yet, but I'm excited to find it because I collect "retellings" (Fairy tales, religious stories, myths, Arthurian, etc.)

posted by sedeara at 8:42 am (EST) on Sep 18, 2008

Visited your website btw...your poems were absolutely stunning. I loved "Edge" most of all.

posted by D_Eligh at 7:52 pm (EST) on Aug 31, 2008

Thanks for the Li-Young Lee suggestion! He's one of my favorite's. I haven't read Behind My Eyes yet but it's definitely on my to-read list.

posted by D_Eligh at 7:49 pm (EST) on Aug 31, 2008

Hello! I'm a recent LT'er and noted that we have a lot of books in common. I have a MFA in poetry from Sarah Lawrence, began a smattering of journal publications (poetry and fiction) afterwards, but have not been writing much since law school. Am looking to jumpstart my right brain and start writing again.
Debra

posted by D_Eligh at 1:38 pm (EST) on Aug 10, 2008

Hi, Joanna - thanks so much for the accept! I really loved that McCann novel - wish she'd write another!

:))

Anne B
xxx

posted by AnneBrooke at 1:53 am (EST) on Jul 11, 2008

No, I haven't read that book- I'll have to check it out :-)

As for books on Paganism, it depends what angle you're approaching- for a scholarly analysis, I heartily recommend 'Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess Worshippers and other Pagans in America Today' by Margot Adler. From a practical standpoint, it would entirely depend on whether it was witchcraft you were interested in, or shamanism, or druidry, etc, and after that, what tradition... Drawing Down the Moon is an excellent introduction to myriad groups, so I still think that's where I'd start anyway.

It might seem funny to you, having so many books yourself, why I'd be in such a hurry to whittle down my collection. :-) I used to be a book hoarder, with about 800 or so, I'm a bibliophile, and I always have something on the go. Over the last year or so, I started to get all philosophical about them for some reason- I'd look at my shelves and see dead trees and ink, because they weren't being read (I'm not a re-reader, for other philosophical reasons). So my favourite books- unless they were something I would reference- all were sold or put on BookMooch, to give them a second+ life. I'm still culling now- there's stuff I wanted to read 10 years ago that I'm just not interested enough now in to give them a go, though it's even hard to part with those, for sentimental reasons. I'm always getting books out the library, instead of reading stuff from my own shelves! I like the spontaneity of going in and finding a book on a topic of interest.

That's my current book story, anyway!

posted by zillah77 at 5:09 am (EST) on May 28, 2008

Thanks for stopping by--I love your library also. I will take your suggestion--look for more poetry ratings soon!

posted by Leah.Hannah at 3:07 am (EST) on May 11, 2008

Joanne,

Interested to hear what you think of Germaine Greer's book - I have been picking it up in the book store and wondering how good it is. The hefty price tag makes me put it down again.

Bryson's book is a fun light romp through the little known life of Shakespeare. I reveiwed it here

Cheers,

Karen

posted by kiwidoc at 11:19 am (EST) on May 9, 2008

Hi Joanne,

Just to let you know that I have changed my user name from karenwardill to kiwidoc, so you know who that is!!

I have discovered Simon Armitage recently, and have been enjoying his translated works - the Odysssey and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Also Philip Larkin has me interested.

Cheers,

Karen

posted by kiwidoc at 11:28 pm (EST) on May 8, 2008

Hello fellow kiwi, poetry person and fantasy nut. Nice to meet ya. :)

I notice you have a few Jennifer Roberson's - you might be interested in the book she wrote with two other female authors called the 'The Golden Key'. A very beautiful book it is.

Cheers

K

posted by Severn at 5:27 am (EST) on Apr 2, 2008

Hi, Joanna, I have just found you on Bookmooch which explains the friend's email.

I am expanding my repertoire a teenie bit wrt poetry, especially since reading Andrew Motion's memoir, 'In The Blood', which I really enjoyed. A poetic prose affair. He has lead me onto Phillip Larkin and WH Auden, as well as some of his (Motion) poetry.

Cheers, Karen

posted by kiwidoc at 12:28 pm (EST) on Mar 22, 2008

Hi. Thanks for the kind words. Because many readers who like the same poets are likely to have different collections of their poetry, LT's affinity calculations don't make it easy to find other collections of interesting poetry (we only share 56 books, but I would say that the affinity between our poetry collections is actually much greater). I'm glad you found mine since that allowed me to find yours!

Although I have no way of verifying it for sure, I'm pretty sure that From Blossoms is different collection of poems than Behind My Eyes. Lee wrote a poem called "From Blossoms" that was included in his 1986 volume Rose (I see you already own this book)--maybe it is this collection that has been published as From Blossoms in the U.K.

I've just started reading Behind My Eyes--I'll let you know what I think of it in a few days (although I'll warn you in advance--this is my first exposure to Lee's poetry, so my comments may lack perspective).

Thanks again for the heads up!

posted by SilentInAWay at 3:10 pm (EST) on Mar 6, 2008

Like chr0me, I don't know if it's the same book. This one came with a lovely CD of Lee reading. I've been enjoying it a great deal (I'm about to review it for my paper, so I don't want to give too much away.) But I would agree that it's not a big departure from his earlier works, although I find, like many poets, he's growing more subtle with age.
Best,
Kel

posted by KelMunger at 6:43 pm (EST) on Feb 29, 2008

Hi. In response to your question: I don't know if it's the same book. The poems in Behind My Eyes are consistent with what I know of his work. They're thoughtful, often powerful poems that are beautifully constructed. The book comes with a CD of Lee reading many of the poems, which I especially enjoy as I first encountered his work through a collection of poems read out loud by the poets who wrote them.

posted by chr0me at 8:42 am (EST) on Feb 22, 2008

I've just realized I know you from Bookmooch.I will be looking at your library for good recommendationsof New Zealand or Australian lit.
Sandy

posted by posthumose at 8:14 pm (EST) on Jan 27, 2008

Oh....and I really like Terry Prachett and Phillip Pullman and Neil Gaiman - although I haven't catalogued all these as they are in my teenagers rooms and entry is permitted to remove such items only with consultation and persmission!!!!!

I admit the Jasper Fforde book is on my list and unread - do you recommend it??

Cheers, Karen

posted by kiwidoc at 5:43 pm (EST) on Aug 6, 2007

Hi Joanna,

Well - to be honest I am not a well-read poetry buff but I do like Anne Carson. I don't think I can hold my own talking about poetry with you - although the great thing about LT is that is does introduce you to new works!!

I went to Dunedin for med school and Christchurch for my three clinical years. I loved Christchurch. We spend most of our spare time tramping in the South Island - Routeburn, Heaphy etc. After med school I went to Canada when I met my hubbie. Tramping in Canada is a very different experience and I find it difficult to relax because of the bears and cougars etc. So don't do it so much here. The weather here is also a problem. Too damn raining.

Anyway - nice to 'make a friend back home'. Hope we can stay in touch. Love to hear any recommendations.

Cheers,

Karen

posted by kiwidoc at 12:27 pm (EST) on Aug 6, 2007

Hello - I was passing through Caroline's page and thought to take a peek at your page too. Nice to see a fellow New Zealander on LT. I lived in Tauranga for my teens and the South Island for my training years. I notice that we only have 30 books in common - despite a large number catalogued so obviously your site has loads of fodder for me.

Nice to meet a Kiwi!!! Have you read any of Leonard Cohen's poetry - he is a Canuck poet singer songwriter.

Cheers,

Karen

posted by kiwidoc at 12:35 pm (EST) on Aug 4, 2007

Sorry I hadn't responded to your comment from May. For some reason I stopped getting emails from here when things like that happened, and I haven't logged on in a while.

I'll have to check out the Padel book, especially since I'm always a sucker for Stevens references.

Cheers!

posted by ripperbard at 2:43 am (EST) on Jul 20, 2007

Hello Joanna,
Many thanks for your kind comments,and glad you approve of the collection.I haven't got round to buying the latest Aberystwyth yet,but I must do so soon,they are rather good aren't they.Is that right,that books cost more in New Zealand than in the UK ? They always seem more than enough here I must say.
You mention Hay-on-Wye,which I've never dared to go to.(I might just go too mad there) I have however just returned from a 3-day visit to the city of Cambridge,which is a fantastic place for bookshops.It includes one of my favourite shops,Heffers. A book-lovers dream .I won't tell you just how many I staggered home with!
Anyway,very nice to hear from you.
All the best
Peter

posted by devenish at 2:57 pm (EST) on Jul 19, 2007

Hi Joanna - What did I think of Doty? His reading for me didn't sound as confident as I expected, I guess when you read someone's work to yourself you hear a resonant voice you have created in your imagination - and I'd never heard him interviewed before. However I got a brief chat with him afterwards and he was lovely. We talked about his non-poetic books, one about Holland, as I am a big Netherlandophile, and his memoir 'Heaven's Coast' which I thought was a very moving tribute to his partner of the time. I got a couple of books signed as well of course.

I'm studying 'International Development and the Environment' at Open University. Its been a long slog with a couple of pauses, but I have enjoyed most of it and will be delighted when I get that last 'pass' mark at the end of next year! Of course inevitably then I shall just go and find something else to study!

Kind regards
Caroline

posted by Caroline_McElwee at 6:02 am (EST) on Jul 12, 2007

Hi, for the most part I think Edible Forest Gardens was well worth what I paid for it, but I got it for around $90 for the set and not for list price so that helps a lot. They are very thorough and there are tremendous amounts of information in them which makes it an excellent resource when I have questions or need clarification. However, I don't think it makes a good introduction to permaculture, it's too intensive to give a comfortable overview of the ideas without overloading on details. It also has a focus on temperate climates so if you are looking for specifics to put into practice your mileage will vary depending on where you're located. It really depends on what you want from the books, If you want something that will give you some idea of what permaculture is and how to incorporate a few (or many) of the practices into your own gardening these aren't the books to get. But if you are looking for information on the underlying principles and why and how they function these are very informative. They also have extensive data on plants and systems that are appropriate for permaculture use and, of course, how to put all of it into practice. Unless you have already read a few other books on permaculture and are looking to go in depth with it, these probably aren't necessary. Especially considering the price tag.
Hope that helps, if there's anything else you would like to know just ask.
Areulan

posted by Aerulan at 11:01 pm (EST) on Jul 10, 2007

Hi Joanna - Congratulations on getting some poetry published this year in a volume. I too write, and have recently had some successes in the smaller presses, one recently published in "Fires" and several due later this year (all from acceptances last year - its a painful process down't you find. I worked really hard at submitting something every week last year, I got acceptences of 12 poems by 4 editors. I've slacked off on submissions this year due to studies (mature OU student - 5th of 6 years), though made the 100 shortlist for the Mslexia competition.

As for Frida Hughes, I really liked the work in her first volume, "Wooraloo" but have to say that like so many poets, they seem to be coaxed into more formulaic writing or exercises that comply with 'the theory' after that first volume, and often for me the work loses something individual. That said, the other two volumes weren't awful, and I will continue to watch what she does.

I've just read Tess Gallagher's latest volume "Dear Ghosts," which I enjoyed very much, there were a number of very poignant poems, and I have read and re-read a number of them already. Sadly she is now suffering from terminal cancer, I hope this isn't her last volume.

My other favourite poet in recent years is America's Mark Doty, who I had the pleasure of hearing read his work a few years back.

Continued success with your work.

Kind regards
Caroline

posted by Caroline_McElwee at 6:23 am (EST) on Jul 2, 2007

Hi Joanna,

I'd recommend Eva Salzman's 'The English Earthquake' as a good place to start - she's an accessible poet, born in America but living in England, and her poetry has a refreshing directness. A few of her poems feature in the very good anthology, New Women Poets, ed. Carol Rumens (Bloodaxe 1991), which I recommend highly as an excellent introduction to some of the best female poets who emerged at the latter end of the 20th century.

I'm always happy to talk poetry :-)

Helen

posted by scarletslippers at 7:22 am (EST) on Jun 29, 2007

Hi Joanna. I thought To a Fault was mostly pretty good, although I found myself feeling a bit sour towards it after a lot of my friends ranted and raved about it for far too long. The poetry is pretty safe -- fashionable, I suppose. Still, he has that knack for nailing things so they seem just right. He's got a new collection coming out soon, hasn't he?

I really must return to Hay soon -- my bank account is crying out for decimation.

I'll look out for you in NP4

James

posted by jalmidgley at 1:33 pm (EST) on Jun 6, 2007

Hi - the amount of poetry on LT must be going up very rapidly - when I joined two weeks ago most of my poetry books were unique, now most of them are shared...

Re Moniza Alvi: if you buy the Bloodaxe collection Carrying my wife, you'll find that (for some byzantine reason known only to poetry publishers) it includes the two earlier Oxford Poets collections, so that's probably the one to go for. Otherwise, The country at my shoulder is the one that appeals most to me - I found the "Carrying my wife" sequence a bit contrived, lacking the directness of the early poems, although it has some very good things in it, especially the final poem in the sequence. I haven't seen any of her more recent stuff.

posted by thorold at 1:06 pm (EST) on May 4, 2007