"He really wants someone to pet him.
The trouble is: his teeth won't let him."
-- John Ciardi, "Why Nobody Pets the Lion at the Zoo"
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I'm reading as much by poet John Ciardi as I can. These are why, so far:
- http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=181364
- http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=23183
- http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=176403
- http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=176396
- http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=176393
- http://harvardsquarelibrary.org/poets/ciardi.php
And, maybe against better judgment, I rattled off an email to Dr. Reist about him. Something about the poet's deadly whimsy and cynical faith made me think it ought to be quoted somewhere between how he met his wife, and why Asian women make good mistresses.
4 comments:
I read "...Lion..." aloud to Katie, and she said, "I like it, where'd you find it?" and I told her.
The others will need more time to consider.
Also, what'd you think of the Inaugural poem (delivery aside?)?
My girlfriend liked "Lion," too.
As for the Inaugural poem, I thought it was a bit plain. It had a few images and sentiments that I found interesting, but I guess I was just disappointed: It didn't take me anyplace I hadn't been before. Especially with her choice of mundane images, I would have liked less mundane words and cliched sentiment ("Love that casts a widening pool of light"? Really?) For a poem about how we encounter each other via words, the words it encountered us with were less than shiny.
I also wasn't too thrilled with her exclusion of the military from the "many have died for this day" section, but that's just me. I definitely think, over all, that Angelou's and Frost's Inaugural poems were better poems.
A word of praise, though, as an afterthought: I was impressed by her use of tercets. Rare to see that nowadays.
I found this article on it; it's kind of interesting, considering the source:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/042mnawu.asp
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