Thanksgiving has come and gone, with lots of great family time. Now it's quiet here again, and I pulled out a poetry book to enjoy in front of the fire, From the Box Marked Some Are Missing (Hobblebush Books, 2010), by Charles Pratt. My family and I used to visit Charles and Joan Pratt's orchard, Apple Annie's, and it became a very special place for us. In the poem "November: Sparing the Old Apples," he describes the old trees in the orchard as "...broken-winged umbrellas/Black sea birds drying angular wings on a rock." The poem ends with him knowing what he should do but can't: "And I put my chainsaw away for another November/As if having endured conveyed some right to endure." There's something both exhausted and strong in that last line that appeals greatly to me.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Wishing everyone a happy, safe Thanksgiving, surrounded by family or friends.
Sending out virtual pies, especially to my son out in Utah who can't make it home for Thanksgiving. Not the prettiest, but well-intentioned!
NH Literary Awards Reader's Choice
Snowman's Code was chosen as the 2016 New Hampshire Literary Awards Reader's Choice for Outstanding Book of Poetry. Needless to say, I'm thrilled! Congratulations to Alice Fogel, whose book of poetry Interval won the award for poetry.
First snow!
It's November 21st, and there's first snow on the ground here at the lodge, kicking off this website and blog perfectly.