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Toward a Commonplace Book
Late last year I mentioned Max Brod’s biography of Heine. Today, hoping against hope to get my desk cleared off, I ran across it in a stack of books set aside for reshelving. But there were all these little post-it notes sticking out, making the book look like a tattered flag. I had meant to write something coherent about it, but since I have so much work in front of me I’d better settle for passing along the quotes I’ve marked.Read More
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One Reading of Linda Hogan’s Indios
One characteristic of great writing is that it offers layers of richness that invite contemplation and inspire not only self-examination but an impulse to reach beyond the text. In the case of Linda Hogan‘s compelling new book, Indios, the text takes the form of a harrowing and luminous poetic monologue. It is a psychological, cultural, and spiritual tour de force, written in verse that is musical and direct, tactful (in the sense of “adroit and sensitive”), and free of the empty cleverness one finds in so much American poetry these days.Read More
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Adios, Aunt Betty
Betty Hill—Rest in Peace Readers of this blog know that we lost my Uncle Bill last November. Now his dear wife Betty is gone as well. She suffered from Parkinsons, the progress of which accelerated in the months after Bill’s death. Her passing is sad for those of us who loved her gentle spirit, her generosity and good humor. Pondering the sheer unfairness of her condition sometime back, I remembered this strangely comforting poem by Goethe: SONG OF THE TRAVELER AT EVENING Over all the hills now, Repose. In all the trees now Shows Barely a breath.Read More
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On Baker’s Stone Girl E-Pic
I’ve been struggling—let me admit it—to find a way to write about Ed Baker’s Stone Girl E-Pic. It’s a 515-page poetic adventure, the reading of which is like watching sparks thrown off by a fire: the fire’s below the rim of the firepit, so you can’t see it directly, but the climbing sparks, the waves of light and heat under a skyful of stars—this is the sensation Stone Girl produces.Read More
Joseph Hutchison, Colorado Poet Laureate 2014-2019, has published 20 collections of poems and edited or co-edited three poetry anthologies. He currently directs two master’s-level programs for University College at the University of Denver: Professional Creative Writing and Arts & Culture Management. Joe lives with his wife, Melody Madonna, in the mountains southwest of Denver, Colorado, the city where he was born. 
