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New Books - 10/07
The Secret Powers of Naming by Sara Littlecrow-Russell ($16.95 Arizona) In her introduction to Littlecrow-Russell's first book, the poet Joy Harjo
says the poetry is "hard-hitting, wise witness to these times at the
beginning of the 21st century here in Indian country." Add to the
hard-hitting-ness and the wise witnessing generous dollops of humor and you
will have the picture-- "'I want to see Indian ruins.' / So I drove him /
past HUD houses and boarded trailers." Her anger and compassion weave
throughout this collection of direct, deeply felt poems. "I am terrified /
of anyone who is not noble, / who is not savage." In a brief afterward,
Littlecrow-Russell writes that the contents of her book are shaped "around
the chamber of a revolver loaded with five colonial bullets. The bullets are
alcohol, disease, poverty, violence, and assimilation.... The sixth, empty
chamber of the gun is named 'survival.'" The caring and thought evident in
that description fuel her quite alive poetry.
Our World by Molly Malone Cook and Mary Oliver ($24.95 Beacon) This is an
affecting and lovely book combining text by Oliver with fine photographs by
her late partner, Cook. Cook opened a photography gallery in the late
1950's, and associated with several of the great American photographers of
the time-- W. Eugene Smith, Edward Steichen, Ansel Adams, and others. She
was a skilled black-and-white photographer, her work featuring the crisp
detail and social attention of the time, and revealing a keen eye for
composition. Several are unposed pictures of the not-so-famous and the
famous, including a rare snap of Jean Cocteau. Oliver has provided a
chronology of their relationship and written a portrait of Cook that is
personal and loving. Three previously published poems by Oliver are
included, as is a selection from Cook's journals, which shows her to have
been a charming writer. From her journals-- "3:45am, 14th of September '87
and look who's here! It's me." This is quite a moving tribute to Cook and to
a long relationship.
And take a look at our October 2007 calendar listings, where you'll find write-ups of The Human Line by Ellen Bass ($15 Copper Canyon); The Islands Project: Poems for Sappho by Eloise Klein Healy ($17.95 Red Hen); Ripening by Paul Hunter ($14.95 Silverfish Review); Following the Day by Dan Morris ($10 Pudding House); Lives of the Puzzleworkers by Claudia Brigid Mosher ($14.95 Chiasmus); Next Life by Rae Armantrout ($13.95 Wesleyan); with more write-ups to come!
JUST UNPACKED BOOKS (in no particular order)
Lilies Without by Laura Kasischke ($14 Ausable)
Modern Life by Matthea Harvey ($14 Graywolf)
The Middle Room by Jennifer Moxley ($25 Subpress)
Measured by Stone by Sam Hamill ($13.95 Curbstone)
Telephone Ringing in the Labyrinth by Adrienne Rich
($23.95 Norton)
Sleeping with the Moon by Colleen J. McElroy
($19.95 Univ. of Illinois)
Disclamor by G.C. Waldrep ($16 BOA)
Boxing the Compass by Holly J. Hughes
($10 Floating Bridge)
2008 Poet's Market ($26.99 Writers Digest)
New Selected Poems by Mark Strand ($26.95 Knopf)
Still to Mow by Maxine Kumin ($23.95 Norton)
...and more and more!
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