Connie Wanek

This is one of the most refreshing books of poetry I've read in some time! Told from the point of view of God's spouse, these 20 poems made me smile. Excerpt from the first poem, "Mrs. God":

Mr. Big Ideas, sure,
but someone had to run the numbers.
Then talk about babies: he never imagined
so many.

That was part of his charm, of course,
his frank amazement at consequences.

Some even made me laugh out loud. From "Intelligent Design":

She had already noted
the proximity of Adam's reproductive organs
to show more the terminus of his digestive tract.
"I'm not starting over,"
God said flatly.

Or this one. From "Peace on Earth":

God had lately
created the black widow spider
that consumed her tiny mate
directly after he fertilized her eggs.
"That's not funny," said Mrs. God.

"I thought you would be pleased,"
he teased . . .

In the end, though, the poems get you thinking about more serious matters, such as natural disasters, love, time, creation, free will. But Connie Wanek takes us to even these topics gently, as gently as Mrs. God loves Mr. God. From "The Impulse to Create":

She loved him best sweet and drowsy
and tugged the clouds around him,
shushing the world. show less

A lovely, playful, contemplative collection of poems and illustrations in four sections (Fire, Water, Air, Earth).

"...but my friend
who always sees things as they are
told me no..." (from "A Disappointment"

"Each hour of sleep is an hour of healing." (first line of "Sleep")

"Deep in the night, a frightening dream
tried my door, and I called out for help,
my voice all alone in the silence.
The moon showed up almost at once,
wearing its white latex gloves, and dusted
the doorknob for prints and show more checked
all the windows for damage." (from "A Bad Dream")

"Growing up for a tree
is mostly reaching out and out to touch another,
and that's enough of a life." (from "Trees")

See also: Out of Wonder: Celebrating Poets and Poetry by Kwame Alexander, Chris Colderley, Marjory Wentworth, and Ekua Holmes; Firefly July by Paul Janeczko and Melissa Sweet show less

Personally, I found this sort of quiet and dull overall. I read it immediately after reading [b:Emile and the Field|58496713|Emile and the Field|Kevin Young|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1629120236l/58496713._SX50_.jpg|91866951] and I think it suffered in comparison. Whereas Emile has a musicality and seems to speak directly to children, I thought the poems in Mashmallow Clouds were clunky to read aloud, and most didn't feel like they'd have much child show more appeal.

There are a few poems in this collection that I appreciated. I liked "Remote" and "Cow Pie" which are among the few funny poems in the book. I also liked "Trees" ("Growing up for a tree / is mostly reaching out and out to touch another, / and that's enough of a life.") because it reminded me of a scene in the movie C'mon C'mon where this little boy is so excited to talk about how trees communicate with each other.

The subtitle (Two Poets at Play among Figures of Speech) made me think these poems would be exploring well-known figures of speech in a playful way, but that's not what's going on here. It would be more accurate to say this is Two Poets Making Observations Using Figurative Language. show less

On Speaking Terms by Connie Wanek

From this collection of wonderfully accessible poems, Garrison Keillor chose 'Monopoly' to read on the air (3/22/10). In twelve lines it captures the memory of a joy many of his listeners recall. Her poem, 'Scrabble,' uses just sixteen lines to encapsulate a current state of mind.

I found the book a delight to read. Sometimes wry, 'Pickles,' 'The Split' bring instant reaction. Others, dealing with family relationships, are moving and thought-provoking.

In 'O show more Little Town,' a hymn to Morgan Park, Minnesota, Wanek captures all aspects of a situation that has been the subject of a full length documentary film.

Human relationships, all aspects of nature, even a Proustian recollection(!) within seventy-eight pages . . . a book to treasure and share. show less