(insert deer in the headlights look here)
Reader, if I told you about my week, I’d sound like a broken record. Instead, let me tell you that I’m pining for the Girl with a Pearl Earring. I’m having a hard time letting her go — in fact, I’m thinking of going to see her one more time before she leaves town on June 2. Or would that be stalking? There is something really amazing about seeing a famous work of art with one’s own eyes. Dear Girl, I was so glad to meet you. I’ll miss you forever.
Okay, let’s get on with this.
rejection wiki File in: Things I Never Would Have Imagined. I’m probably the last to know about rejection wiki, right? Rejection Wiki is a website where you can go and search the text of a journal’s rejection to see if it’s a standard, higher tier, or personalized rejection. Omg. I almost wish I didn’t know about rejection wiki, but while I was there I looked up a couple of rejections that I thought were standard but apparently were “higher tier” — in other words, when they said to send more work, they actually meant it. Note to self. I think I’ll now go back to pretending I don’t know about rejection wiki.
20 little poems Here’s an article by Tony Hoagland proposing 20 poems that he believes should be taught in American schools ( It was comforting to read that Hoagland and I are on the same page about why many Americans don’t get poetry). Last night at writing group we discussed the article, and decided we’d all bring a list of 20 poems we’d suggest to someone who may not be an avid reader of poetry as an introduction to the genre. I’m curious, Reader: what poems would you choose? Share in comments, if you like.
the sleeve of your best shirt I think I might choose this poem by Jane Kenyon. Bless her for writing a poem about laundry. Bless every poet who ever wrote a poem about laundry. And now, I must away… the laundry waits.
Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for reading!
the stanza 
LOL. Your photo scared me already, before I looked at the caption!!
Omg. Is there a Wiki for everything??? I wish there was a boyfriend Wiki. Wait– maybe I don’t.
I saw the Tony Hoagland article. He’s one of my favorites. Which poems would I choose? I don’t know, I may have to get back to you on that one, although off the top of my head, I’d have to say, probably the same ones that got me interested in poetry. Ted McMahon’s Grapefruit, Sharon Olds’ Alcatraz, Pinskey’s ABC, Bukowski’s The Mockingbird and 99 Degrees, although I wouldn’t reccommend reading Bukowski as an introduction to poetry! And maybe most of all, (which is kind of ironic), Tony Hoagland’s A Color of the Sky, and Suicide Song. Hmmm. That actually was a pretty good list. lol.
Love Jane Kenyon’s poem, thanks for sharing!
I hope you do go see “your girl” again before she leaves. I haven’t been to a museum in a very long time and that makes me sad.
I agree, there is something about seeing the work with your own eyes. I’m usually shocked at the size of some works. I always read the size when seeing the work in a book, but I never fully understand until I see it in person. Always so much smaller or larger than I pictured. Aside from that, which is just initial, I just think it’s amazing that someone had the talent to make something so (whatever word happens to fit ), especially with portraits, and that you can actually see brushstrokes and paint, and depth, and it suddenly becomes so real that this person actually lived at some point in time. I would LOVE to see The Girl with the Pearl Earring in person, I’m so glad that you did!
Ooops, I think it’s “Pinsky”, and I forgot to mention Next Day by Randall Jarell, although I can’t get into all of his poems.
Okay, I think I’m done now. 🙂
Thanks, Val! It was amazing to see the painting face to face. Yes, it was much smaller than I’d imagined, and the background has a green cast to it instead of being purely black. Hope you get to a museum soon!
Thanks! I hope I do too!
Yeah, the size thing gets me every time.
Oh, I love your laundry basket, this laundry poem, and Tony Hoagland’s article. Thanks for linking to it! Also, our dryer is broken and lies dissembled on the basement floor, but a part came in the mail yesterday, so it’s possible my husband can get it going again. Meanwhile, there’s a breeze! True, it’s a chilly breeze….
Oh, dear — there is, perhaps, nothing scarier than a dissembled dryer. I hope it’s back up and running by now!
Molly,
– I like the idea of good poems by living writers. In fact, I keep a file on my desktop of just that. The “great poems” collection began as a way to access poems that I could share with others, mostly students, friends and non-poets. What began as a handful of favorites is not up to 93 pages (and growing). A few favorites: “Relax” by Ellen Bass; “Praise Song” by Barbara Crooker; “Kindness” by Naomi Shihab Nye; “A Ritual to Read to Each Other” by William Stafford . . . .
– I don’t like the idea of the wiki rejection site. Some times ignorance really is bliss, or at least less painful.
Thanks for another great roundup.
Thanks for the list of poems — I’m running off to google them now. And yes, I agree — I think the world would be just fine and perhaps better off without rejection wiki.
Oh gosh, I just remembered my own stack of laundry!
I’d share “Persimmons” by Li-Young Lee and “come celebrate with me” by Lucille Clifton.
Thanks for adding your $.02 and have fun with that laundry 😉
Can’t wait to share that article! Love your blog, fren. Will start putting my list of 20 together, beginning with “Red Wheelbarrow”
Send me your list when you have it! xoxo