margarita engle’s sweet scent hunger

April 19, 2012September 8, 2017 ~ jama ~ 32 Comments

#15 in the Poetry Potluck Series, celebrating National Poetry Month 2012.

“In Latin America in general, and Cuba in particular, poets have been the inspiration behind struggles for independence, struggles for freedom of all sorts.” ~ Margarita Engle (PW Interview, 2009)

I think most of us will agree that for some things, only poetry will do.

Verse can capture the full range of human emotion in its purest form, distilling its essence for all time. This is what award-winning author Margarita Engle does so brilliantly in her historical novels-in-verse, which I love for their cultural richness, soaring lyricism and enduring power. Each of her books is a work of incomparable beauty, a crystallized portrait of unvarnished truth and harsh realities culled from a complex situation enmeshed in the broader canvas of Cuban history.

With just a few strokes, Margarita is able to break your heart at the turmoil and horrors of war and revolution, the social injustices endured by oppressed women, the unspeakable atrocities of slavery. History is personalized, anguish is personified, with her focus on strong role models, individuals in terrible circumstances who have overcome unimaginable obstacles.

So, we are uplifted and inspired by wilderness nurse Rosa la Bayamesa, who chose to respond with kindness and compassion while her country was being torn apart by successive wars, or by poet slave Juan Francisco Manzano, whose courageous actions and fortitude prove that the heart and imagination can never be suppressed. Ultimately, our faith is restored in the untold resilience and shining beauty of the human spirit. The voices in her poems blend to make unforgettable music — a clear, unfettered song of hope and freedom triumphing over adversity.

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leslie muir, my cajun queen

April 18, 2012September 6, 2017 ~ jama ~ 41 Comments

#14 in the Poetry Potluck Series, celebrating National Poetry Month 2012.

Who dat? My beb Leslie Muir!

Choooh, she cute, no?

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Leave it to Leslie, one of my favorite picture book authors, to two-step into our little shindig and kick it up three, four, ten thousand notches. No surprise, dis ~~hot mama~~ peppery poet is always cookin’. When she’s not baking her famous bread or assembling yet another doughnut cake, she’s tossing together a bunch of tasty, chewy, spicy words and making new stories. We don’t call her “Bakery Babe” for nothing.

*Cafe du Monde beignets via Chuck Yaeger*

Remember when she had those mice baking a birthday cake in the middle of the night? What about that grumpy hedgehog sucking down his celery soup and shaking his maracas with his neighbor Paprika? Maybe you prefer sinking your fangs into something juicy or chomping on crispy beetles? Whatever your pleasure, Leslie knows how to serve it up!

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linda baie: a lovingly baked memory

April 16, 2012September 8, 2017 ~ jama ~ 64 Comments

#12 in the Poetry Potluck Series, celebrating National Poetry Month 2012.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: You meet the nicest people through Poetry Friday.

I can’t remember exactly when Linda first joined “the gang,” only that she immediately felt like an old friend. At her lovely blog Teacher Dance, she not only shares a wealth of ideas and insights about teaching poetry and creative writing, but also many original poems and personal life reflections. Her warmth, caring and generosity have won over many blog readers, who, like me, appreciate her genuine interest in others and lifelong commitment to learning. One of the things Linda is doing for Poetry Month is continuing her project of creating poems which examine different ways of looking at children growing up, essentially saying goodbye to each precious stage. She plans to combine her series of poems with family photos and create a keepsake book for her grandchildren. Very cool!

Today I’m wearing my best bib, because Linda has brought biscuits! Some of you may know about my deep, abiding love for biscuits. Yes, I’ve dallied in the past with a few cupcakes, macarons, and pies. But there is just something about biscuits — small, round, gently risen in all their brown perfection, a piece of idyllic country life, a cozy Sunday morning family breakfast. Roll, pat, cut, a fine cloud of flour, particles of good memories that linger.

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sunday bear: mary oliver from New and Selected Poems (1992)

April 15, 2012October 2, 2017 ~ jama ~ 14 Comments

*“Buster and Betty Sue” by Barbara McConnell (yellow mohair, matching outfits, gold heart studs, 1987)*

The Sun
by Mary Oliver

Have you ever seen
anything
in your life
more wonderful

than the way the sun,
every evening,
relaxed and easy,
floats toward the horizon

and into the clouds or the hills,
or the rumpled sea,
and is gone —
and how it slides again

out of the blackness,
every morning,
on the other side of the world,
like a red flower

streaming upward on its heavenly oils,
say, on a morning in early summer,
at its perfect imperial distance —
and have you ever felt for anything

such wild love —
do you think there is anywhere, in any language,
a word billowing enough
for the pleasure

that fills you,
as the sun
reaches out,
as it warms you

as you stand there,
empty-handed —
or have you too
turned from this world —

or have you too
gone crazy
for power,
for things?

© 1992 Mary Oliver (New and Selected Poems, Beacon Press). All rights reserved.

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♥ Last Week’s Door Prize Winners ♥

Water Sings Blue by Kate Coombs and Meilo So: Irene Latham from Live Your Poem

Guacamole by Jorge Argueta and Margarita Sada: Michelle from Peaceful Reader

My Father’s House by Kathi Appelt and Raul Colon: Cathy from Merely Day by Day

Congratulations, Irene, Michelle and Cathy!
Please send me your snail mail address: readermail (at) jamakimrattigan (dot) com.

Thanks for all your great comments, everyone!

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Week of April 16-21, 2012

Guest Poets:

April 16: Linda Baie
April 17: Lesa Medley
April 18: Leslie Muir
April 19: Margarita Engle
April 20: Sondra Gash

Door Prizes:

The President’s Stuck in the Bathtub by Susan Katz and Robert Neubecker (Clarion, 2012)
unBEElievables by Douglas Florian (Beach Lane Books, 2012) ♥ Previously unannounced, surprise prize ♥

*Comment on any post during the week to be eligible to win!

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♥ Today’s Sunday Bear Hug is brought to you by Mr. Cornelius, who is seriously considering moving to the Lake District to become a Romantic poet.

((((((((HUGS))))))))))((((HUG))))((((((HUGS))))))))

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friday feast: adele kenny’s chosen ghosts

April 13, 2012September 6, 2017 ~ jama ~ 85 Comments

#11 in the Poetry Potluck Series, celebrating National Poetry Month 2012.

*Adele with her Yorkshire terrier, Chaucey*

There’s nothing I love more than having a new-to-me poet like Gail Gerwin knock on my virtual kitchen door with a delicious poem in hand and then have that gift lead to even more deliciousness.

After “meeting” Gail and swooning over the poem sequence she’d written about her mother Cele’s cooking, I asked if she knew of any other poets who might like to join our Potluck. She suggested Sondra Gast (who’ll be here next week) and today’s lovely guest, Adele Kenny.

Adele is truly a poet’s poet; her first poems date back to childhood (wonderful samples here), and just by reading today’s excerpt you’ll get a good sense of the exquisite craftsmanship she employs in her writing. I love the layers of emotion, her textured, sensual imagery, crisp diction, and haunting lyricism.

Such a rare treat to have Adele share this ancestral communion with us, as well as the wonderful family photos and recipe. A genealogy buff, Adele’s been able to trace her family back to 1600 in Staffordshire! With my love of England and Irish American relatives, it’s safe to say Adele is a kindred spirit. ☺

Adele: The following poem is an updated excerpt from the title poem of my book Chosen Ghosts (Muse-Pie Press, 2001). I worked on the first version of this poem while I was “gathering history” in a genealogical study of my Irish and English ancestors, and this poem tells how welcome those “ghosts” are in my life. Sharing this poem, a family recipe, and a bit about their backstories is a special kind of “life writing.”

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