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

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

Last week I wrote about a three-way interview published by “The Review Review” about the future of poetry. The three-way was composed of Rob MacDonald of Sixth Finch Journal,  Matt Hart of Forklift Ohio Journal and Gale Marie Thompson of Jellyfish Magazine.  I recommend at least perusing the article to get a sense of what people in the poetry world (and these are very relevant people within that cloaked realm) have to say about the general future of the genre. But what is truly special about the […]

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

“Mother is drinking to forget a man / who could fill the woods with invitations”is perhaps one of the best poem openers I have come across. Sure, it is simple. But it is also grotesque. The phrase is already a poem before the poem even begins. This line opens Lynn Emanuel’s poem “Frying Trout While Drunk.” Emanuel is a well-established poet, whose work won a Pushcart Prize, one of the most important prizes awarded in the literary world. Today, she teaches […]

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