I think a big part of my motivation as a writer is that I love making things. Truth be told, I still dye Easter eggs every year (sometimes with a niece and nephew to legitimize the process, sometimes not), and it brings me joy. Artwork I’ve done at every age still hangs on the wallsContinue reading “Artifacts”
Author Archives: rreagler
Question 1
What is one work of so-called-great literature that you’ve never read but that people probably assume you’ve read? Mine is Middlemarch. I did read the first 200 pages though. Twice.
“blue: the sea, the sky, the unknown”
"blue: the sea, the sky, the unknown" a stone to pound open greenalmond husks — white inside the seed inside the seed finding the moon reflected in waves .. . another mystery: the deep bluesea made of clear water how our eyes create love by Meredith Stricker, from tenderness shore© Meredith Stricker
2 Dead Poets
The first poetry reading I ever attended was by the Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz . He died this week at the age of 93. Milosz read his poems in both Polish and English in a small chapel on my undergraduate college campus. At the end of the reading, he gave the audience a deep namaste-typeContinue reading “2 Dead Poets”
Details from Out There
I’ve never really thought of myself as a nature person. Once I slept in a tent about 20 years ago, and I doubt that I’ll do it again any time soon, if given any choice in the matter. I enjoy reading Thoreau, but I wouldn’t want to be Thoreau. But if you think of writersContinue reading “Details from Out There”
Green Lizard, Green Broom
In science they call it camouflage, the ability to blend into one’s surroundings. To make one’s body invisible and yet there, alive, breathing. I have an idea, a project du jour that goes like this. Let’s collect green poems. We’ll make a collage out of them. I will get us started with a little bitContinue reading “Green Lizard, Green Broom”
MoJo
Signifying in this instance: more on joy. This just in. The most recent online issue of the Mississippi Review is called The Happiness Issue. Jane Armstrong edits this edition. In her introduction, she confesses that she expected a very limited response. Instead she got inundated with poetry. When I posted the call for stories, essays,Continue reading “MoJo”
Joy
Lucinda Williams does a great song called Joy. Do you know that one? This song, like most of Lucinda’s, is not gleeful. But she is a blues singer. One of my friends who teaches poetry workshops told me that he made an assignment once to a group of graduate students. Simply put, he asked everyoneContinue reading “Joy”
Writing in Restaurants
I had admired the book of essays by David Mamet on bookstore shelves for years before I actually bought and read it. The actual subject matter of Writing in Restaurants turned out to be not what I had imagined. The problem was one of projection. I was thinking about my own experiences with writing inContinue reading “Writing in Restaurants”
Pieces
Christa’s post has encouraged me to keep adding to my own story, so here’s a little more of it. After the 2 semesters of freshman English I was really at a loss. By hunting for orange spines or skinny books, I was often able to find some kind of poetry, but I didn’t know aContinue reading “Pieces”
Orange Spines
The latest issue of FENCE magazine reminded me of this. After my freshman English course, I had pretty much completely cruised the poetry selection in the Norton anthology. I was not sure how to proceed. I had developed an appetite for poetry but wasn’t sure where to go get seconds. I decided that the slimContinue reading “Orange Spines”
Los Touchstones
Which poets did you read when you first began writing? Of those, which ones do you still enjoy revisiting? I think Wallace Stevens was the poet who jazzed me deeply first. The vividness of his imagery translated brightly and instantaneously in my head like a animated cartoon version of a painting by Joan Miro. AsContinue reading “Los Touchstones”
How to Stay Curious
I’ve been considering the possibility of starting a blog about all-things-poetry for many months now. It’s not that I think I have the answers. Or even the questions. I’m not looking for a soapbox. But I am interested in the blog as zocolo, as town square, a place of exchange and conversation. I attended twoContinue reading “How to Stay Curious”
