OK, so I haven't written here since June 25th, but I've written 5 poems, read three books, written three reading commentaries, along with a substantial cover letter. So there. I just finished the cover letter, so I declare myself Independent of the first packet until I send it off to Kwame by email on July 9th.
In preparing to work on the next packet, I've been reading Christian Wiman's book of essays, Ambition and Survival: Becoming a Poet, and I'm disappointed. I thought I'd find something instructive; after all, he edits Poetry, and I expected this collection to be something like Louise Gluck (excuse the lack of umlaut) or William Stafford in saying how they came to poetry and giving a sense of vocation. But I don't find it in Wiman.
After Wiman, the next three books on my list of twenty are Robin Robertson, Swithering; Mary Jo Bang, The Eye Like a Strange Balloon; and Lucie Brock-Broido, The Master Letters. I'll see what I can do with them.
After this, I'm taking the day off.
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