Diane is Rounding-up at Random Noodling today.
Last night snow came to New England. I’ll mark it with New Hampshire treasure and former U.S. Poet Laureate Donald Hall’s poem “Blue Snow”. Last week Hall, author of the classic Ox Cart Man, read from his latest book of poems, The Back Chamber. He says whereas lines of poetry used to descend like meteor showers, poems aren’t coming to him nowadays. Hall calls The Back Chamber his last book of poetry, but if another comes up, he’ll not hammer it down.
Blue Snow
Pete Sullivan dropped by:
"Your barn needs work, and so do I."
Pete had the eye
To fix old boards with new
And keep the handy knotholes through
Which swallows flew.
Go to Poetry Daily to read the entire poem and another from Hall’s latest collection.
Here is a marvelous 3 minute video of Hall speaking from his home at Eagle Pond.
The Back Chamber; ISBN-13: 9780547645858
I'll have to order a copy of the new book for the library--it would be a shame if there were no more Donald Hall collections to follow...
ReplyDeleteGood choice, Joyce!
ReplyDeleteThank you for a terrific post, Joyce - I love the poem ("Old cowbarns tilt awry...") and I especially love the interview from Eagle Pond. Stay bundled and cozy up there this weekend!
ReplyDeleteI always love the poems that tell a story, linking us up with some small moment that's important to contemplate. I wonder if we have those hired men about still? Perhaps there are different kinds of being hired today?
ReplyDeleteSo nice to see you all here. Jet, I'm glad you enjoyed "Blue Snow". Diane, Hall is writing prose now, he says. How can it not be poetic? Robyn, Donald Hall often zeros in on objects like cowbarns, turning them into icons. Yes, Teacherdance, hired men are still about in New England. This economy has added to their numbers. Thanks for visiting!
ReplyDeleteSnow already? We're supposed to get some this weekend too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the DH poem,hadn't seen that one before. :)
Lucky you, to get to hear Donald Hall speak!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed that clip you posted (and poem, too!). Thanks! Getting ready for more snow down here in MA tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteVery crisp poem. I feel sad though when you mentioned that:
ReplyDelete"whereas lines of poetry used to descend like meteor showers, poems aren’t coming to him nowadays"
- there are days like that. Sad days when poems don't come as naturally to us as we would wish them to be. I do hope the meteor showers descend upon him again. :)