For National Poetry Month: original poems from authors, courtesy of Amazon
First, a special heartfelt thanks to Amazon for contacting me and giving me permission to share these with you! Thanks, Amazon! They originally appeared here:
Omnivoracious: “Our Favorite Authors Write Poems for National Poetry Month”
April is the
Academy of American Poets’ National Poetry Month (since 1996)
Poetry is a special form of literature. I have really loved some poetry books, although they probably aren’t the ones which most people would name. In fact, I can be very sure of that. 😉 Here are a couple, neither of which are available from the Kindle store:
- The Birds and the Beast Were There (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*) edited by William Cole
- Stoogism Anthology (at AmazonSmile*) edited by Paul F. Fericano
The Cole book was simply brilliantly edited. The basic theme was animal poems, but it went to so many styles, and included animals you won’t find in your zoology book. Even though I first read it as a child, I still remember some of the poems. I did get the book again as an adult (you can buy it for a penny at time of writing).
The other one is a bit of a rarity. It’s an anthology of poems where yes, many of them are about The Three Stooges. It has my favorite poem, which is free verse and just a couple of lines. It has to do with a fear of acrobats, but I don’t have permission to reproduce it.
I’ve never written much poetry myself, outside of song lyrics (and those have mostly been song parodies). Poetry and song lyrics aren’t quite the same thing, although there are obvious parallels.
I did write this once…I don’t know why, and I still don’t know what it means. 🙂
“Grunk a nile,
Stay awhile,
Sip a bit of tea.Have a knife,
Take a life,
Do it all for free.”
Nope, I don’t know what “grunk a nile” means, and it’s an odd sentiment for a pacifist. 😉
I don’t think we can extrapolate from that that writing poetry is hard, but let’s take a look at what famous writers wrote for Amazon:
—
KATE DiCAMILLO, author of Raymie Nightingale
I read like I breathe.
I need the inhale of words
the exhale of hope.
L.S. HILTON, on her book Maestra
There once was a woman from Liverpool
Who was took by her boss for a fool.
So she travelled the Med
And left many men dead
And did things they don’t teach at school…
CHUCK PALAHNIUK, author of Fight Club 2
“Blondes!”
Switch the initials
Donald Trump, Tyler Durden
No coincidence.
CYNTHIA D’APRIX SWEENEY, about her book The Nest
There once was a family named Plumb,
Though book-smart, their choices were dumb.
Now they are broke
And Leo’s their hope
But can his heart (and pocket) be won?
RICK RIORDAN, channeling Apollo from The Trials of Apollo
Reading’s pure pleasure
If the subject is awesome.
Like me, for instance.
—Apollo
CHUCK KLOSTERMAN, author of But What If We’re Wrong?
It’s the juice of life
To write as if from Japan
Home of Godzilla
DAVID DUCHOVNY, author of Bucky F*cking Dent
There once was a Yankee named Bucky
Whose name rhymed with words quite unlucky
He beat the Sox
And New England’s jocks
And made D. Duchovny quite lucky
JOE HILL, author of The Fireman
Buy my book and you’ll have my thanks
And what’s more (to be terribly frank)
I’d be wild with glee
If you bought three
And picked up my Amazon sales rank
RICK YANCEY, on his book The Last Star
Sunlight falls away
from the land, and a single
star crushes the dark.
RICH COHEN, author of The Sun & the Moon & the Rolling Stones
Best thing to say
On that first trip back home
Is “Sorry I missed you,
But I was traveling with the Stones.”
26 and writing for a great music magazine
Having fallen into the record
like waking in a dream.
Mick, Keith, Charlie, crazy Ron Wood
And me dancing “Satisfaction” in the wings
like every fan should.
Years later I’ve turned it all into a book
The tours, the music, the history
and don’t forget the look
Keith gave me when he discovered I was born
A year before the death of Brian Jones.
“You’ve never known a world without
the Sun and the Moon and the Rolling Stones.”
ANGELA DUCKWORTH – poem written by her daughter, age 8, about Grit
Angela Duckworth studies grit;
Sticking to things,
Not throwing a fit.
Working real hard,
Practicing well,
If you are gritty,
Angie can tell.
Trying until you have it right,
Just like Edison and his light.
Grit will help you,
Later in life.
“Grit is good” says Jason’s wife.
Messing up sometimes is okay.
But not trying at all?!
We give it a nay.
Being gritty might not be that fun,
But when racing, you’ve already half won.
AMAZON BOOKS EDITORS FRIENDS
If there’s one thing I know that I need
It’s a great and spectacular read
When I don’t have a book
My brain’s stuck on half-cook
Like a horse who’s gone off her feed
—Sara Nelson
Double-stacked in the book case
How can I find one more place?
For another favorite tome
That must have a home
I think I just need much more space…
—Seira Wilson
lost: small white haiku
notebook, lined, half empty, half
full—if found, please read
—Jason Kirk
A book is a wonderful thing
As we see what an author can bring
To our spry active minds
Though we sit on behinds
Our brains and our hearts take wing
—Chris Schluep
One day I met Margaret Atwood
And nervously babbled more than I should
She was quite witty
Patient, as I was giddy
Until security parted us, for good
—Erin Kodicek
—
There you go!
What do you think? How do you generally feel about poetry? Are there poets you would particularly recommend? I find I tend to like whimsical, funny poetry, as opposed to dark and epic…how about you? Feel free to tell me and my readers what you think by commenting on this post.
Thanks again, Amazon, for the permission to reproduce these for my readers!
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This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.
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