Tag Archives: 2016 poetry campaign

2016 Poetry Campaign: Siphon, Harbor by Brooklyn Copeland

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I have 8 creative goals this year, and behind door 7 is reading a book of poetry every month. Want to join me? You can see what book I’ll be reading each month here. March’s book was Siphon, Harbor by Brooklyn Copeland. Join me in April reading Aimless Love by Billy Collins.

siphon harbor

How amazing is this cover?!!

So. Siphon, Harbor. It was a little too post-modern for me to really connect with, though there were some sweet moments.

The title of the novel comes from a line from a very sexy poem called “Seall,” which I think is the last name of her boyfriend.

There was an interesting poem about subjective/objective-ness, which this grammar nerd found intriguing:

In any pair
one does as if doing’s gracious– 

                the other
as if sacrifice– 

Another line I really liked was this:

To this day, to me all
silver smells red.

Will you like Siphon, Harbor? Maybe! Give it a try. It’s such a fast read– no joke, it will take you fewer than thirty minutes. Let me know what you think!

And join me next month in reading Billy Collins!

2016 Poetry Campaign: It Becomes You by Dobby Gibson

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it becomes youThis was a re-read for me. I first read Dobby Gibson’s It Becomes You about two years ago, and I loved it so much that I immediately bought his other collections (both of which I also enjoyed very much!). He is a brilliant writer, and to top it off, he’s local! It was fun to read poetry about Minneapolis.

How to describe his work? While I read, I had comparisons bouncing around in my brain. Dobby Gibson writes with the tremendous peeling-open-of-ideas and thoughtful phrases of Billy Collins, with the great breadth of vocabulary of Annie Dillard but much more accessible. There are phrases that will make you pause in awe, and every poem will leave you feeling thoughtful, somehow weightless and heavy at once.

Magic.

Highly recommend: also, his other books Skirmish and Polar are fantastic reads too!

Join me next month for my 2016 Poetry Campaign. We’ll be reading Brooklyn Copeland’s Siphon, Harbor. Click here to see the schedule for the rest of the year!

 

2016 Poetry Campaign

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white blank picture in the roomWell, my 2015 poetry campaign hit an unexpected snag when I moved in April and didn’t get to unpack my books for months.

Trying it again next year, and you’re welcome to join me. Here’s what I’ll be reading:

January: Mouthful of Forevers by Clementine Von Radics
February: It Becomes You by Dobby Gibson
March: Siphon, Harbor by Brooklyn Copeland
April: Aimless Love by Billy Collins
May: Incarnadine by Mary Szybist
June: My Bright Abyss by Christian Wiman, pages 1-60*
July:  My Bright Abyss by Christian Wiman, pages 61-120
August: My Bright Abyss by Christian Wiman, pages 121-end
September: Halflife by Meghan O’Rourke
October: Best Thought, Worst Thought by Don Paterson
November: The Poem She Didn’t Write and Other Poems by Olena Kalytiak Davis
December: The Madness Vase by Andrea Gibson

Maybe you want to read more poetry but you’re not sure where to start. Why not start with me?

* Everyone I’ve talked to who has read this says to give myself plenty of time to chew on this book.