Ana Maria Caballero

You’re It

November 25, 2014 by Ana Maria Caballero

Since this is the last Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I wanted to share a poem with a spiritual dimension. But, as the piece I selected is particularly Californian in its brand of spirituality, it is playful, mystical and non-denominational. Indeed, it might even be considered hippie-ish. It is an easy poem to keep in one’s head while one travels with the crowds or dines with the relatives. The poem was written by poet and filmmaker James Broughton, pictured to the right, […]

Categories: Ana Maria Caballero, ZiR • Tags: books, poetry, religion, spirituality, writing

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The Blue Cardigan Blues

November 11, 2014 by Ana Maria Caballero

It is always interesting to come across a poem whose structure is just as important to its development as its diction. Such is the case with poet Anne Carson’s piece “Father’s Old Blue Cardigan” below. The message of the poem is clear and forceful, the more so because its line breaks and verse structure cascade down into the denouement. And in that final line, the work’s major themes of death and childhood are wrung together by the open revelation of a third theme that we’ve sensed […]

Categories: Ana Maria Caballero, ZiR • Tags: lit, literature, poetry, writing

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Nun Fun

November 4, 2014 by Ana Maria Caballero

There are a few ways to tell that you’ve “made it” as a poet. One of these is getting a piece published in The New Yorker. For Los Angeles-based poet Suzanne Lumis, however, getting published in the most recent edition of the magazine is simply one more confirmation of having unequivocally “made it.” Lumis is a highly respected, veteran writer, educator and champion of the arts in the L.A. region. She works with kids, with college students, and with her community at […]

Categories: Ana Maria Caballero, ZiR • Tags: literature, poetry, reading, writing

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Mixed Feelings

October 28, 2014 by Ana Maria Caballero

As an emotion, “mixed-feelings” catches a bad rap. But having mixed-feelings about a poem is actually a valid, and valuable, emotional response. It means something in the poem worked for you, but, at the same time, something else didn’t. There is a grey area, imprecision, ambiguity even. All spaces in which poetry thrives. The following poem, written by poet Kevin Young, leaves me with such mixed-feelings. I know the poem has merit, but at the same time, it bothers me. There […]

Categories: Ana Maria Caballero, ZiR • Tags: books, horses, literature, poetry, reading, writing

A Pot of Bones

October 21, 2014 by Ana Maria Caballero

Natasha Trethewey is one of those rare poets that everybody seems to like, despite her massive commercial success. Massive, that is, in terms of poetic commercial success, which is timid at best. Trethewey won the Pulitzer Prize for her book Native Guard (2006), written about an all-black regiment that fought in the Civil War. She was later named U.S. Poet Laureate, twice. Her work deals principally with race in America. Trethewey’s parents were a mixed-race couple living in Mississippi in […]

Categories: Ana Maria Caballero, ZiR • Tags: books, literature, poem, poet, poetry, reading, work

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Autopsychography

October 14, 2014 by Ana Maria Caballero

Recently, a friend sent me a poem by Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935), who today enjoys a cult-like following. Although, like many great artists, this following emerged after his passing so he never actually got to enjoy it. Perhaps Pessoa inspires such a cult-like following because he himself was intrigued by the occult and even claimed to have had experiences as a medium. What’s more, he created over fifty fully-functional pseudonyms, each with an individual style and psychological baggage, to express his seemingly […]

Categories: Ana Maria Caballero, ZiR • Tags: literature, poetry, Portugal, writing

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Pernickety

October 7, 2014 by Ana Maria Caballero

Last week, I posted a poem by Marge Piercy about male-female relationships that immediately sparked comments from readers, both positive and negative. The topic clearly does not get old. This week, Piercy tackles heavy themes like faith and justice, via nature’s impartiality and indifference. An equally timeless theme, I would say, although one that is likely to provoke less dialogue. Here is the lovely poem, one of my favorite pieces by Piercy: The Pernickety Plum Tree The fourth […]

Categories: Ana Maria Caballero, ZiR • Tags: books, literature, poetry, reading, writing

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The Man is a Teapot

September 30, 2014 by Ana Maria Caballero

For those who favor such categorizations, Marge Piercy’s poetry can easily fall under the label “Feminist Poetry.” As such, her poetry wouldn’t be an obvious first choice to bring along during the famous Carmel Car Week in August. For some reason, though, her book “The Twelve Spoke Wheel Flashing” ended up in my carry on, and I read her poems while accompanying my husband during the car shows. I will share a few of the pictures I took of the poems, […]

Categories: Ana Maria Caballero, ZiR • Tags: automobiles, California, literature, poetry, writing

Opportunities for Stasis

September 16, 2014 by Ana Maria Caballero

Kay Ryan sits very near the top of contemporary poetry’s list of “must-read” writers. Sure, recommending a two-term former Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize-winning author should come as no surprise. But Ryan is also a poet to present to those who have no relationship with poetry. Her work has many layers, and perhaps only seasoned readers will reach the deepest ones. Yet, the first surfaces of her poems are touchable. By no means facile, her work is quick to convey a mood. This […]

Categories: Ana Maria Caballero, ZiR • Tags: books, literature, poetry, reading, writing

ZETEO

Zeteo (ζητέω): to challenge, question, dispute, explore the forgotten and ignored

Author Archives: Ana Maria Caballero

You’re It

The Blue Cardigan Blues

Nun Fun

Mixed Feelings

A Pot of Bones

Autopsychography

Pernickety

The Man is a Teapot

Opportunities for Stasis