Good Poems, American Places

Garrison Keillor continues in his quest to bring poetry to the man and woman on the street in this his third collection of poems "as heard on the Writer's Almanac." Certainly he is to be commended for being the one individual who has done more than anyone else-- with the possible exception of perhaps Bill Collins--to bring new poetry converts into his church. Many is the time that I have sat in my car, having arrived at my destination before Mr. Keiller has finished his poem for the day in that immediately recognizable soothing voice of his, to get a fix for the day from his reading. (And sometimes I have ordered an obscure volume of poetry from an unknown poet he has just read, only to discover that too often Mr. K. has read the best poem in the collection!)No amateur with words, himself, Mr. Keillor writes a decent introduction about his childhood in Minnesota, family travels, and how grade school teachers ruin poetry for our youth. "Americans are impatient with riddles and so they give poetry a wide berth, knowing from Miss Fernwood's 8th grade English class that a page of writing with an uneven right margin means a series of jokes with no punch lines, a puzzle with no right answers." Too often poets whom Keillor describes as "upward-striving" write about Europe, but not the writers he has selected in this collection of over 260 poems. He gives a whole laundry list of subjects that these poems write about, purely American, and Europe be damned.Mr. Keillor includes a lot of poems from poets I know and like: Wendell Berry, Robert Bly, Charles Bukowski, Raymond Carver, Billy Collins, Stephen Dunn, Allen Ginsberg, Donald Hall, Robinson Jeffers, Galway Kinnell, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Grace Paley, Kenneth Rexroth, Theodore Roethke, W. D. Snodgdrass, Gary Snyder, William Stafford, John Updike, James Tate, Marge Percy, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Sara Teasdale, May Sarton, Donald Justice, Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Carlos Williams, Anne Sexton, Dana Gioia--and of course the father and mother of twentieth century American poetry, Mr. Whitman and Ms. Dickinson. Mr. Keiller even includes Johnny Cash for his "Folsom Prison Blues." (I cannot imagine, however, hearing anyone read this poem rather than sing it.)There are even more poets I've never heard of in this big collection in praise of America. My two favorites are from poets previously unknown to me: The first is "Bridal Shower" by George Bilgere, a poem that resonated with me to the 12th power. I suspect others feel just as strongly about people who talk on cell phones in public. Here is the poem in its entirety.Perhaps in a distant café,Four or five people are talkingWith the four or five peopleWho are chatting on their cell phones this morningIn my favorite café.And perhaps someone there,Someone like me, is watching them as they frown,Or smile, or shrugAt their invisible friends or lovers,Jabbing the air for emphasis.And, like me, he misses the old days,When talking to yourselfMeant you were crazy,Back when being crazy was a big deal.Not just an acronymOr something you could take a pill for.I liked itWhen people who were talking to themselves might actually have been talking to God or an angel.You respected people like that.You didn't want to kill them,As I want to kill the woman at the next tableWith the little blue light on her earWho has been telling the emptiness in front of herAbout her daughter's bridal showerIn astonishing detailFor the past thirty minutes.O person like mePhoneless in your distant cafe,I wish we could meet to discuss this,And perhaps you would help meMurder this woman on her cell phone,After which we could have a cup of coffee,Maybe a bagel, and talk to each other,Face to face.The second poem, from a section named "Never Expected To Be There" is on a totally different subject, one that will tear your heart out, "Meadowbrook Nursing Home" by Alice N. Persons. The narrator of the poem takes her cat Lucy, who is fifteen and "getting creaky herself," to visit Mrs. Harris in a nursing home. Mrs. Harris speaks:"I had a cat called Lily--she was so pretty, all white.She was with me for twenty years, after my husband died too.She slept with me every night--I loved her very much.It's hard, in here, since I can't get around."Lucy was settling in on the bed."You won't believe it, but I used to love to dance.I was a fool for it! I even won contests.I wish I had danced more.It's funny, what you miss when everything. . . . . is gone."This last was a murmur. She'd fallen asleep.The narrator then goes home and dances to Tina Turner. This poem, to paraphrase Mr. Keillor in describing Emily Dickinson's poetry in his first collection of poems GOOD POEMS, will take your head off.Thank you, Mr. Keillor, for another fine collection of poems with something for everyone.

“American Places” is the third in Garrison Keillor’s “Good Poems” anthologies and just like the title suggests, most of the poems in the collection are good. Many are really good. And there are a couple of dozen I loved. This volume has about 260 poems. Most are written by poets I’m unfamiliar with and most poems are of recent vintage There are a few poems written by Longfellow, Dickinson, Whitman, and Emerson but most are written by 20th Century poets.Five poems really stood out for me. The first is “Plastic Beatitude” by Laure-Anne Bosselaar which is a vividly depicted poem describing the Pazzotti’s house and yard. It’s hilarious and conjures up great mental imagery. “Meadowbrook Nursing Home” by Alice N. Persons, despite its somber title, beautifully affirms life. “Mambo Cadillac” by Barbara Hamby uses words, rhythm, and imagery to propel this poem along at a frenetic pace. Wendell Berry’s “They Sit Together on the Porch” is a touching and poignant poem to long-married life. Finally, “The Slave Auction” by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper is so moving and heart-rending as she describes the break-up of slave families in a southern slave market.There are a few clinkers. My least favorite in the collection is “The Legend” by Garrett Hongo. I found his juxtaposition of extreme violence and the mundane quite unpleasant. Maxine Kumin’s “The Zen of Mucking Out” didn’t do it for me since I’m not a fan of manure poems. “Sleeping Next to the Man on the Plane” describes Ellen Bass’s airplane flight next to a very obese passenger. Patricia Hampl’s “Resort, part IX” was a little too verbose with too many words not saying anything.The only criticism I have of this book is that Keillor does not include the year the poems were written though he does include short biographies of the various poets. Highly recommended especially if you’re looking for a volume of accessible poetry.

I have enjoyed the two earlier editions of Keillor's collections of poem, "Good Poems" and"Good Poems for Hard Times." I haven't read any of the three from cover to cover, but my impression is that this is as good a collection as the original volume and perhaps a bit better selection than the second. A great blend of relatively new writers and old favorites, including some lesser-known poems from long-time favorite writers. Most of the poems are short enough to fit on a page, short enough to read out loud to friends without losing their attention, and capable of being understood amd enjoyed without consulting additional reference books. Since retirement I have worked as a substitute teacher in five high schools, and I have developed the practice of beginning each class period with a poem. That means I am always looking for something new, and this is a great source.

Gift

I enjoyed the poetry and liked that there was a mix of old and new. The hand of Keillor is ever-present and I several times I found myself imagining his voice reading the poems :-) The drawback of that is the poems tend to have a similar flow and pace so there are sections in which the poems are lacking in variety. There could be a few more energetic poems and a few less of the wistful and breezy ones. But that's just quibbling...all of the poems were good reading and I can see how when read in isolation they could be ear-catching. I read the book on an extended bus trip and gobbled two or three chapters at a time which accentuated any common elements. Thumbs up and I'm glad it (and the other "Good Poems" books) are on my Kindle.

Good peoms