Best American Poetry: Reuben Jackson's "November Poem" is Pick of the Week
Terence Winch chooses a fiery Jackson original for Best American Poetry's pick of the week.
Grace Cavalieri says what we are all thinking about Jackson's love song turned murder ballad "November Poem", "This is such an unusual poem for Reuben. Goes to show the man travels places that would thrill an astronaut. He certainly thrills us." And the thrill cuts through every punching line in this poem selected by Terence Winch for Best American Poetry's pick of the week.
Another commentator notes the dream-like, or nightmare-like, aspect of the piece, writing, "What a dream, shifting forward in each well measured line, each pulse, popping with surprise until its end." A poet noted for his realistic depictions of life and love, "November Poem" marks a departure for Jackson which is already garnering attention for its singularness-- while employing the familiar craft for which he is justly renowned.
Read the "November Poem" here. Purchase Reuben's collection Scattered Clouds here.
Featured Audio: The 2019 Maryland Poet Laureate Reads her Poem “Work is my Secret Lover”
Governor Hogan recently announced Maryland’s ninth Poet Laureate to be the incomparable Grace Cavalieri. In his press conference regarding the announcement he touched on her “lifelong” dedication to poetry, and this precisely is one of those defining characteristics of a great artist. ASP celebrated this aspect of Grace in her Legacy Book, Other Voices, Other Lives which is an atemporal sampling of her entire career to now, from poetry to prose, from plays to interviews with US Poets Laureate. It should come as no surprise to Mr. Hogan nor the careful reader of her works then that she has an almost religious dedication and inescapable fascination with her art and its many ingredients. As you we shall hear, in her poem “Work is my Secret Lover,” Poetry is the muse.
ASP Author’s Gift Guide for Book-Lovers (PART 3)
ASP Author’s Gift Guide for Book-Lovers Part 3: The Scholar, The Teacher, and The Godfather A Sampling of Music, Mythology, and Books that Touch the Heart Reuben Jackson Poet […]
Featured Audio: Mark A. Pritchard Reads More from “Billy Christmas”
“We have things to discuss” the Christmas tree says to Billy in the dark of the living room after bemoaning its fairy light binds. Billy’s mother is sick in bed, his father is missing, and the pine tree he was given by the charitable proprietor of his local stand is about to thrust him into a magical adventure which will color forevermore how he thinks about family and what it means to be an adult. Hear Mark A. Pritchard dramatize this important scene from his novel, Billy Christmas.