This is part of a series of columns that feature a much-loved poem, and other poems that speaks to, or resonate with, the first poem. This week’s poem is “Requiem,” written by Robert Louis Stevenson. This poem was carved into Stevenson’s gravestone. The line that attracted me was “Glad did I live and gladly die.” Some critics consider […]
Kevin’s Favorite Poems, “Requiem,” Four More Gravestone Poems, “Gravy” Read More »
This is the eighth in a series of columns that feature a much-loved poem and a second poem that speaks to, or resonates with, that poem. This week’s poem is “Oatmeal,” written by Galway Kinnell in the late 1980s. Kinnell was Poet Laureate of Vermont from 1989 to 1993 and a Nobel prizewinner. A follower
Kevin’s Much-Loved Poems: “Oatmeal” by Galway Kinnell Read More »
This continues the series of columns that highlight a much-loved poem and presents other poems that speak to, or resonate with, that poem. In this column I’m reacting to a nearby tragedy. A poet friend of mine has lost her husband in a bicycling accident, leaving her to finish raising two girls on her own. Because
Kevin’s Much-Loved Poems: “Lament,” “Holy Sonnet 10,” and “The Sick Rose.” Read More »
I’d previously excluded “The Lanyard” from these columns because of its length–it’s considerably longer than most of the poems I’ve included. But I was recently asked to read at a birthday party from a thankful daughter, and, after searching widely, I found and read one of my already-most-loved poems. It was so well received I’m giving it a column
Kevin’s Much-Loved Poems: “The Lanyard” by Billy Collins Read More »
This continues the series of columns that highlights a much-loved poem and presents other poems that speak to, or resonate with, that poem. This week features “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats, written in 1819, almost two hundred years ago. The two related poems are both by F. Scott Fitzgerald: “Thousand and First Ship,” and
Man Martin’s third novel will appear in May, 2017 from Unbridled Books. The book suggests a corollary to James A. Michener’s quote, “If your book doesn’t keep you up nights when you are writing it, it won’t keep anyone up nights reading it.” The corollary is that if your book doesn’t keep you chuckling writing it, don’t
The Shandean Spirit Lives on—Man Martin’s The Lemon Jell-o Syndrome Read More »