I received my contributor's copies of BAP 2007 in the mail yesterday. One paperback and one hardbound. I *love* the cover image. Dean and I took turns reading poems to each other after dinner last night. This volume really has Heather McHugh's sensibility all over it. There is word-play galore, humor, intelligence, and singeing wit, as well as a little bit of politics & social-issues, and a dash of history & theory. I feel honored to be included.
Here is a sample, I believe it is from fellow blogger Cam Larios!? (aka Sculpin):
What Bee Did
Bee not only buzzed.
When swatted at, Bee deviled,
Bee smirched. And when fuddled,
like many of us, Bee labored, Bee reaved.
He behaved as well as any bee can have.
Bee never lied. Bee never lated.
And despite the fact Bee took, Bee also stowed.
In love, Bee sieged. Bee seeched.
Bee moaned, Bee sighed himself,
Bee gat with his Beloved.
And because Bee tokened summer
(the one season we all, like Bee, must lieve)
Bee also dazzled.
-- Julie Larios
from The Courtland Review
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9 comments:
ha that's great
congrats
Has Jim drawn a cartoon about you yet? You'll know you've reached poetry superstardom when that happens. ;-)
Collin: I haven't seen anything. His cartoons are always such a hoot. And remind us not to take ourselves too seriously.
Wow, Peter--congrats! And what great news to me that Heather McHugh has edited BAP this year--definitely makes me look forward to reading it.
I don't know which poem of yours she chose, but for the record, I think I'll eternally remain utterly bowled over by the one that begins and ends with [papraphrasing) "every year a new spear" (maybe it's "each year"?). Just amazingly, amazingly done--a great poem with or without the impressive device used. Congrats again.
Thank you, Emily. That is so sweet of you to say! *blush*
The poem you mention is "The Flowerless Branch." It's a palindrome, and it happily (for me) made the cut into What's Written on the Body.
Very, very cool! I may have to actually buy this year's volume.
Congrats Peter! I'll have to check it out.
Congrats on BAP! Love this poem you've posted - looking forward to the whole book.
Peter -
Glad you liked my poem!
Just want to say that I enjoyed "Nursemaid's Elbow" and what you had to say about it in the endnotes for BAP. Nice to be in an anthology of poems chosen by Heather McHugh, isn't it?? She's such a lovely poet herself, and the BAP collection shows her great heart, her intellect and her humor. Congratulations on the publication.
Julie [mother-in-law of Cam] Larios
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