Practicing ~ A Poem by Maria Howe
Listened to Terry Gross' Fresh Air interview with poet Marie Howe. They covered many topics, most centered around death, but did include a discussion of this poem about practicing to kiss as a 7th grader...
What the Living Do ~ A Poem by Marie Howe
Listened to Terry Gross' Fresh Air interview with poet Marie Howe. They covered many topics, but most centered around death: the death of her younger brother, Johnny; the death of her mother; and the death of her first true boyfriend from high school.
I was moved by her poems, she read three or four on air, and by her view of poetry, that the essence of poem is what cannot be expressed in words, its silent voice.
Her poem What the Living do is about her brother Johnny who was dying because of AIDS. She originally wrote it not as a poem, but as a letter to her brother...