I’ve been going a little crazy ordering books in the mail, books of poetry. Also, a second set of speakers like the ones Eileen ordered a while back. I’m planning on using them in the kitchen.

Yesterday I ordered a copy of Anthony Hecht’s Collected Later Poems. I have  mentioned him here before.

The pic above is Hecht. He died in 2004. I have the book checked out from the library right now and have been reading in it. He and Richard Wilbur seem to me to be a certain kind of “craft” poet. I usually read a bit of Shakespeare each day. Right now I’m almost done with Measure for Measure. Shakespeare’s language like the language of the King James Bible is lovely English. It makes me aware of how words work in a different way from many other poets that I also love. Hecht and Wilbur seem to hew their poems carefully so that I’m attract not only to the poem but how it works.

I ordered Wilbur’s Collected Poems as well. A library copy of this book is also sitting next to my chair and I have been reading in it.

Then there’s Kevin Young. He has been on my radar for a while. I ordered two of his books of poetry: The Grey Album: On the Blackness of Blackness and To Repel Ghosts: The Remix.

They should arrive today with my speakers along with one one more book, Silencer by Marcus Wicker.

At the same time, I’m reading (but not buying) Kevin Young’s 2007 book, For the Confederate Dead.

I’m not sure how I ended up reading all this stuff. I find that poetry is a good place for me to go most times. Working through my Mom’s current decline, I may be turning to stuff that keeps me going. Also, I have my bi-weekly meeting with my shrink today. I’m looking forward to talking to him.

Meena Alexander Reads Gerald Stern | The New Yorker

I listened to this this morning. I like the two poems in this podcast. I especially like how Alexander has in an insight about the relationship between her poem and Stern’s. This seems to occur during the podcast. Cool beans!