It's National Poetry month and I urge you to check out this post of Kay Byer's. Her poem sequence "Searcher" has been nominated for the prestigious Pushcart Prize and she shares two poems from the work.
Years ago in England, a searcher was a woman employed to check bodies before burial to ensure that they had been clothed in English wool cloth, rather than in prohibited foreign goods.
Kay takes this dark material and weaves a deeply-felt and beautifully-imaged web of words.
Years ago in England, a searcher was a woman employed to check bodies before burial to ensure that they had been clothed in English wool cloth, rather than in prohibited foreign goods.
Kay takes this dark material and weaves a deeply-felt and beautifully-imaged web of words.
But that's what poets do.
7 comments:
I read the poem and felt the dreariness of the job the searcher has to do. The sadness when the mother has to unwrap the child's body. It's a great poem!
Thanks for your visit!
We've been having poetry gatherings at Accent on Books this month, on Friday evenings. I have been amazed at the quality of the work and at the genuine need for poetry by so many people.
Poetry as healing, poetry as catharsis. Twice I've asked the participants and the audience--why poetry? And it seems to come down to the distilling of emotion and experience into its most intense form.
So, poetry is the corn likker of literature. As a hillwoman and a writer (but not poet), I kinda like that.
Reader Wil -- Thanks for coming by. I've just spent an hour making a kaleidoscope using the widget from your post. What addictive fun!I'll post it tomorrow.
BB - I've wanted to come to those gatherings but something always happens to prevent it -- company, cold in the head, blah, blah. You've had a great line up.
The corn likker of literature -- you may have something there, you closet poet, you.
Hi Vicki, I tried to e-mail you and send 9 frozen images of my kaleidoscope, but I got the message that the e-mail wasn't correct. Can you e-mail me? My address is: w.francoiswouters@upcmail.nl
Vicki, thank you so much for this lovely link to my poem. The photos, as always, are gorgeous. And thanks to Reader Wil, too. And Byron for the corn likker metaphor. I'd put a patent on it, if I were you,Byron.
K.
National Poetry Month is something I both look forward to and dread. I love poetry and over the past few years have really gotten into writing more of it. Last year, my friend Alessa and I participated in a Poem-A-Day challenge and of course are doing it again this year. (http://blog.writersdigest.com/poeticasides/) There's a poetry prompt posted everyday, so at the end of the month, you should have 30 poems written and posted. It's tougher than it sounds (hence the dread) but kind of fun at times, too.
Kay, I just want to take people by the hand and say, READ THIS!
Susan -- Wow! That's some challenge! Way to go!
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