Horses Make a Landscape Look More Beautiful

A quick read at barely 80 pages. And a tough one, for me. As a northern small town-raised white man, hard to relate to Alice Walker's inner thoughts so nakedly stated in these poems. But then there was this -

"My father and mother both / used to warn me / that 'a whistling woman and a crowing / hen would surely come to no good end' ..." ("Mississippi Winter IV")

And I remember my mother reciting that same verse, and, like Walker, she chose to "whistle like a woman undaunted."

And there was also her excitement at an upcoming visit, and preparations made, in "My Daughter Is Coming!" A pretty universal experience for older folks.

And "" Poem at Thirty-nine" is about a father - " How I miss my father," who taught her to tell the truth, thrift, show more and cooking

"He would have grown / to admire / the woman I've become: / cooking, writing, chopping wood, / staring into the fire."

But then there's that steely, strange dedication to her ancestors, including a "white great-great grandfather ... / whose only remembered act / is that he raped / A child: / my great-great grandmother, / who bore his son, / my great grandfather, / when she was eleven"

Chilling, yes. And courageous. And nearly inconceivable to this old white man.

This is a book filled with joy and pain, life and living. And certainly worth your time. HORSES MAKE A LANDSCAPE LOOK MORE BEAUTIFUL (a quote from Lame Deer) is a long title for a short book. I rarely read poems, but I liked these. Highly recommended.

- Tim Bazzett,author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER show less

The poems in this collection are generally short with fairly short lines. Many poems provide insights into the African-American experience or reflect on events of the 1960s and 1970s. I found the poetry enjoyable.

most of these were middle of the road for me, but there were a few standouts. in particular her poem "Well." was outstanding. i'd like to read more of her poetry but i think i might just be a bigger fan of her novels.

from "Well.":

"But what a pity
that
the poet
the priest
and the revolution
never seem
to arrive
for the black woman,
herself."

More wonderful words from Walker, whose prose manages to be more poetic than many a novel.

She's a wonderful poet. So raw and radical. You should read this.

From back cover: Walker "writes about ordinary joys...and about poetry itself...She also addresses racism, injustice, and the need to save our planet from self-destruction."

dust jacket