Gerry’s holy-roller father, a retired Navy Commander, demanded restraint, not his son’s talent and candor. But his son’s creative energy was impossible to suppress— He bounded from Yale to Hollywood, an overnight success. Assistant to the head of Columbia Studios at twenty-eight, Married to warm Annie. Father of two. Assumably straight. Much younger, I had […]
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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 “The Weary Blues,” crafted by Langston Hughes. The two related poems are “The Blues Don’t Change,” by Al Young and “Slow Drag Blues” by Kevin Young. (While they share the
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This is the second in a series of columns that feature a much-loved poem, and a poem that speaks to, or resonates with, that poem. This week’s poem is “The Love of Aged Horses” by Jane Hirshfield, first published in The Atlantic in 1994. Jane Hirshfield’s poetry speaks to the central issues of human existence—desire
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This is one of a series of columns that feature a most-loved poem. Each of these poems is coupled with and a poem or two that speak to, or resonate with, the first poem. This week’s poem is “Nostalgia” by Billy Collins, written in 1991. The two other poems are “To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell and
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This is one in a series of columns that examines a much-loved poem, and poems that speak to, or resonates with, that poem. Featured is “Spring Day [Bath],” crafted by Amy Lowell (1874-1925) in 1914 or 15. The Poetry Foundation states: “An oft-quoted remark by poet Amy Lowell applies to both her determined personality and her sense of
This is number four 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 “Danse Russe” by William Carlos Williams, written in 1916. The Poetry Foundation states, “Williams’s deep sense of humanity pervaded both his work in medicine and
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