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Adios, Hayden Carruth
I have been asked more than once recently what book I would want with me if I were stranded on a desert island. (People who ask this forget the key word “desert,” which—if we took it seriously—would dictate something far too slender.) The complete works of William Blake was one of my answers. But today I have to revise that choice. It would have to be the complete works of Hayden Carruth, who died last night at age 87. I discovered Carruth’s poetry through his prose.Read More
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Goodbye, Jane
One of my favorite poets, Jane Cooper, has passed way. She ventured from early, almost reticent lyrics to sprawling, powerful late mediations, and her 1974 essay entitled “Nothing Has Been Used in the Manufacture of This Poetry that Could Have Been Used in the Manufacture of Bread” is a classic apologia that illuminates the struggles women of her generation faced in becoming and remaining writers. Her collected poems, The Flashboat, is a book I return to often—and each new visit brings a fresh discovery.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. 
