Monday, December 29, 2008

December's Black-Veined Blue

December's black-veined blue. The landscape is whittled to its framework.

In the new issue of American Poetry Review, they reprint a passage from Stanley Kunitz's 1994 Commencement Address at St. Mary's College. Within that passage are these wonderful lines:

Poetry, I have insisted, is ultimately mythology, the telling of the stories of the soul. This would seem to be an introverted, even solipsistic, enterprise, if it were not that these stories recount the soul's passage through the valley of this life -- that is to say, its adventure in time, in history.
-- Stanley Kunitz


Where is your soul wandering on this windy December morning? Where is it headed at the end of the year on its "adventure in time?" I wish you a poetic journey in 2009.

Photo taken at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, Cross River, NY, December 2008.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

December Rose Hips

By December, only a few dots of color quiver in the landscape. Tethered like bouquets of miniature red balloons, rose hips strain against the faded browns and grays.

The photo was taken at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, Cross River, NY, on 12/2/08.

Monday, December 8, 2008

The Smaller, Paler Version of His Head

I am so delighted with the way this new little chapbook turned out. I had taken some photographs of miniature scenes that I had fun setting up in my living room, the light from the sliding glass doors illuminating the little porcelain heads. Based on those images, a first line floated into my mind, providing a shadowy path into a new prose poem. I got attached to this brief, dreamlike piece and decided to hang on to it rather than submit it for publication. I knew I wanted to do something more with it. Since my older daughter and I had wanted to work on another book project together, this provided the perfect opportunity for collaboration. (She is a fantastic graphic designer, a graduate of Cooper Union in NYC.) We selected two of the photographs for the front and back covers. The inside pages, all five of them, look elegant. And don't you love the rounded corners? Thanks, Thea!

Here's the first line:

The smaller, paler version of his head was outside, whispering something through the open window.

Tempted? Do you need to find out what happens? Don't you want a new and shiny signed copy? (And weren't you searching for a little holiday gift for someone special?) While supplies last, I'm planning to sell signed copies for $10.00 ($10.74 with tax for NY residents), with free shipping and handling. I'll send you two or more for $9.00 each (again adding tax for those in NY). Sorry, US orders only.

If you are intrigued, just write me an e-mail at CBKLU [at] optonline [dot] net, and I'll give you ordering instructions. I know you need at least one copy.

Don't forget to visit Thea's Web site at www.theathea.com!

Note: Forgive my absence from the blog -- I've been living through a computer crash. Argh.