This month, I step away from my usual memoir recommendations and point you toward an excellent book—Richard Blanco’s Homeland of My Body: New & Selected Poems. Yeah, that’s right, a poetry book.
While poetry isn’t my genre, Blanco’s autobiographical style resonates with me. He tells personal stories but in verse, not prose.
I first encountered Richard Blanco more than a decade ago in a workshop where he used his poem, “Looking for the Gulf Motel,” to illustrate the impact of showing rather than telling and weaving in sensual detail.
Blanco’s accolades are many and include reading “One Today” at President Barack Obama’s second inauguration and earning a National Humanities Medal.
His humor, relatability, and storytelling make his work accessible and inspiring. His latest collection, Homeland of My Body: New and Selected Poems, blends humor, emotion, and sensory details, showing how the devices he uses in poetry can enrich any writing style.
What’s your connection to poetry? Do you read and/or write poetry? What about poetry do you like or dislike?
Tell us about it in the comments section below.
If you’re a poet, or not, remember, the only way to do this wrong is to not do it at all!
From lullabies that danced in my ears, And nursery rhymes that chased away fears. Through childhood dreams, in verse they were told, I loved the rhyme and rhythm, a pure delight to behold. As I grew older, my tastes did expand, From simple verses to poems so grand. In teenage years, I found solace and peace, In the words of poets whose wisdom did not cease. Now, in the present, I dabble and play, With words to express what I feel and convey. While modern free verse has its own place, It’s the structured cadence that I embrace. Poetry, my… Read more »
I am fascinated with song lyrics, a form of poetry. I admire the way lyricists express emotions and sometimes profound ideas with so few words.
I have always read song lyrics, and spent many hours, back in the days of vinyl records, sitting on the floor reading song lyrics on album covers. Now I google them.
My college buddies and I used to try holding conversations using only lyrics. One of my favorites by Sting:
“You’ll forget the sun in his jealous sky as we lie in fields of gold”
As you may know, I have recently stepped away from a two+ year experience writing poems with some extraordinary poets. I credit the genre, poetry, and my fellow poets with getting me through some difficult times in my life and with my family’s health issues. I now have dozens of poems tucked away in my file cabinet and someday, I hope I will find the time and inspiration to choose several for a chapbook. Some of my favorite poets are Mary Oliver, Susan Jackson, May Sarton, and Emily Dickenson. Thank you, Patricia, for considering Blanco as a possible LW read.… Read more »