October Books: Poetry

 I came across some good poetry collections in October and enjoyed them all very much. 

Donegal Tarantella by Moya Cannon

Poetry collection inspired by music, geology, archaeology, and nature. I had not read any other work by this poet, but I liked this collection a lot and will hopefully read more of her work in future.

On the Way Out, Turn Off the Light: Poems by Marge Piercy (audiobook read by the poet)

This is a new collection from Marge Piercy and I did not hesitate to borrow it when I found it in the e-audiobook section of the library website. It did not disappoint. From the library site:

‘Words are my business," Marge Piercy begins her twentieth collection of poetry, a glance back at a lifetime of learning, loving, grieving, and fighting for the disenfranchised, and a look forward at what the future holds for herself, her family and friends, and her embattled country. In the opening section, Piercy tells of her childhood in Detroit, with its vacant lots and scrappy children, the bike that gave her wings, her ambition at fourteen to "gobble" down all knowledge, and a too-early marriage ("I put on my first marriage / like a girdle my skinny body / didn't need"). We then leap into the present, her "twilight zone," where she is "learning to be quiet," learning to give praise despite it all. There are funny poems about medicine ads with their dire warnings, and some possible plusses about being dead: "I'll never do another load of laundry . . ." There is "comfort in old bodies / coming together," in a partner's warmth--"You're always warm: warm hands / smooth back sleek as a Burmese cat./ Sunny weather outside and in."

Piercy has long been known for her political poems, and here we have her thoughts on illegal immigrants, dying languages, fraught landscapes, abortion, President-speak. She examines her nonbeliever's need for religious holidays and spiritual depth, and the natural world is appreciated throughout. On the Way Out, Turn Off the Light is yet more proof of Piercy's love and mastery of language--it is moving, stimulating, funny, and full of the stuff of life.’

A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems 1979-1997 by Wendell Berry

These poems were written during the poet’s Sunday morning solitary walks. They are inspired by his thoughts during these walks and touch on themes such as nature, seasons, relationships, and human attempts to somehow live in ways divorced from the natural world.

On Balance by Sinead Morrissey

This was a re-read for me. I enjoy this poet's work.

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