A Toad's Favo(ur)ite: Rita Dove

"I believe even 5-year-olds can get something from a Shakespearean sonnet…as long as you DON’T tell them, ‘This is really hard.’”  -Rita Dove

Rita Dove was born in Akron, Ohio in 1952.  She received her B.A. from Miami University of Ohio in 1973 and her M.F.A. from the University of Iowa in 1977. She served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 1993 to 1995 and Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2004 to 2006.  She has received many academic and literary honors, including the 1987 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry and the 1996 National Humanities Medal from President Clinton. In 2011, President Barack Obama presented Ms. Dove with the National Medal of Arts, which made her the only poet to have received both medals. 

Author of nine poetry collections, a book of short stories, a novel, essays, and a play, Rita Dove is currently Chair of Commonwealth Professor of English at the University of Virginia (where I, lolamouse, attended grad school!) She currently lives in Charlottesville, Virginia with her husband, the writer Fred Viebahn. She has one adult daughter.  The Rita Dove HomePage has extensive biographical information as well as photos, readings, videos, and interviews. 

Rita Dove is one of my favourite poets, and I had a difficult time narrowing down her extensive writings to even a few of my very favourite poems.  Dove’s writing encompasses political, historical, and personal  themes. Although I find her writing quite accessible and forthright, I always come away with something new to think about or a new way of looking at the familiar. 

When I was a new mom, struggling with the demands of a difficult baby, Dove’s poem “Daystar” was an epiphany. It is from a collection of poems, Thomas and Beulah (1986) based on Dove’s grandparents. When I first read it, I felt that someone understood my mixed feelings about becoming a mother, the loss of privacy and identity that comes with having a child. I clipped that poem from our newspaper and kept it tucked in my dresser drawer to read whenever I felt overwhelmed and unappreciated. It is still there today.

Daystar

She wanted a little room for thinking:
but she saw diapers steaming on the line,
a doll slumped behind the door.

So she lugged a chair behind the garage
to sit out the children’s naps…

For complete poem, see link at Poet's Choice from the Washington Post, 1/23/2000

Here is a video of Rita Dove reading her poem:

Rita Dove reads 'Daystar' from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.

Another favourite poem, "Teach Us To Number Our Days," takes its title from Psalm 90 but speaks to cultural and political issues of today. It begins

In the old neighborhood, each funeral parlor

is more elaborate than the last.

The alleys smell of cops, pistols bumping their thighs,

each chamber steeled with a slim blue bullet…

For complete poem, see the Poetry Foundation website

    Rita Dove is quoted as saying, “I prefer to explore the most intimate moments, the smaller, crystallized details we all hinge our lives on.” I think this is one of the reasons I love her poetry so much. She takes the personal and makes it universal and the universal and makes it personal. She is able to focus a light on those quotidian moments we all have and, with her words, elevate them to things of lasting beauty. Read and enjoy.

A Toad's Favourite: Take a Bite!

From the time I was quite young, I have loved poetry.  Before I could read, my mother read to me from A Child’sGarden of Verses by Robert Lewis Stevenson.  My grandmother gave me a book of poetry for my seventh birthday, One Hundred and One Famous Poems by Roy Cook. Over the years I read and reread those poems and still have my dog eared book! 

It was when I was a young teen, however, that I discovered modern poetry. I felt that I had found poems that were not only beautiful or interesting, but relatable. These poets wrote in the language that I wrote in, and this inspired me to begin writing poetry myself. I began filling pages of spiral notebooks with my own poetry, most of which I still have today.

The book that inspired my love of modern poetry is called Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle … and Other Modern Verse  by Dunning, Lueders, and Smith.  It was originally published in 1966 by Scholastic Book Services as a poetry anthology for young readers but has appeal for all ages, in my opinion. The final poem, by John Tobias, is called “Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle Received from a Friend Called Felicity.” It remains one of my favorite poems to this day.

my old copy

This poem is about childhood, memories, imagination, and nostalgia. Each time I read it, I find some new or different meaning, as I move through the phases of my own life. This is a poem that grows with the reader.  It begins:

During that summer
When unicorns were still possible;
When the purpose of knees
Was to be skinned;
When shiny horse chestnuts
    (Hollowed out
    Fitted with straws
    Crammed with tobacco
    Stolen from butts
    In family ashtrays)
Were puffed in green lizard silence
While straddling thick branches
Far above and away
From the softening effects
Of civilization…

One can already glean the nostalgic mood of the poem as well as the dreamlike mingling of memory with imagination.  “Green lizard silence” is still one of my favorite phrases in a poem.

He continues:

During that summer--
Which may never have been at all…
…Watermelons ruled.

Thick imperial slices
Melting frigidly on sun-parched tongues
Dribbling from chins;
Leaving the best part,
The black bullet seeds,…

Tobias uses the watermelon as an extended metaphor for the changes experienced while maturing into adulthood. I love how he uses such a simple concept to explore a complex theme, the changes and losses of growing up.

And when the ammunition was spent,
There was always another bite:
It was a summer of limitless bites,
Of hungers quickly felt
And quickly forgotten…

Tobias ends the poem with the gift of watermelon pickle, which resurrects his image of an ideal childhood that may have, or may have not, actually existed.

…But in a jar put up by Felicity,
The summer which maybe never was
Has been captured and preserved.
And when we unscrew the lid
And slice off a piece
And let it linger on our tongue:
Unicorns become possible again.

As I believe that this poem is still under copyright, I did not print it in its entirety, but it is definitely worth a read (or two or fifty!) Here is a link to the full poem :  Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle

The poem has been called a classic by both educators and critics, but despite many searches, I have been unable to locate any other poems by Tobias. However, he has written plays, including “My Husband’s Wild Desires Almost Drove Me Mad” and “Is the Real You Really You?” that have been produced worldwide as well as Off Broadway. He also wrote a book on American history and literature called The Adventure of America.

As a final note, a bit of trivia: There is an actual Felicity who did, indeed, give Tobias a gift of watermelon pickle. Instead of a bottle of wine, Felicity brought a gift of homemade watermelon pickle to Tobias’s publication party for The Adventure of America. She had argued with her husband about the gift, as he thought it made her look cheap. Later, the poem “Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle Received from a Friend Called Felicity” was published in The New Mexico Quarterly (1961). I guess Tobias enjoyed the gift!

I  hope you enjoy the poem! 

my yellowed copy of the poem

Collaboration with Margaret & Lolamouse

Greetings, Toads!

Don't you think that reality is overrated?  If so, today's "In  Tandem" is for you.  Instead of "getting real", Margaret and I thought we'd get a bit surreal on all of you.

Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920's and is best known for its visual artworks and writings.  The aim was to "resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality."  Artists painted unnerving, illogical scenes with photographic precision, created strange creatures from everyday objects and developed painting techniques that allowed the unconscious to express itself (source).  Surrealist works often contained bewildering elements, non sequitur, and unexpected connections.

Surrealistic poetry can take several forms.  Margaret and I decided to try a collaboration based on an old parlour game called "Exquisite Corpse" in which a group of people each take a turn adding toa drawing or poem, some of which remains hidden until the end.  Here is a link if you'd like a more thorough history and explanation:  exquisite corpse

For our collaboration, I wrote two lines of poetry but sent only the second line to Margaret.  (In person, this would be accomplished by just folding over the paper to cover the first line.)  Having seen only my second line, Margaret wrote two more lines to develop the poem, sending only her second line back to me.  The poem went back and forth between us, each of us adding to the poem while only seeing part of what was written before.  The final result is a surrealist poem that contains not just our two individual voices but our collective voice.

Andre Breton, Tristan Tzara, Valentine Hugo, Greta Knutson, c. 1933

Withdrawal

Feed me with your words.
I am empty and hunger for
sustenance, an approving glance,
like a child in a candy store.

I want to taste your poetry in my mouth
suck the sweetness.  The lollipop
dissolves; your tongue has silenced,
leaving me sink, swim, or belly flop.

Instead, I float,
gaze at the pallid sun,
surrender addiction
to the abyss, pleasantly undone.

Words and images tumble, crash like meteors
then reassemble.  Meaning and metaphor
entwine, become a red balloon I release,
watch soar, disappear beyond the sandy shore.

by Margaret Bednar and Sheri (lolamouse) Tardio

Accessible Poetry

"If you find yourself as a writer thinking about posterity you should probably go out for a brisk walk or something."  Billy Collins

If you find yourself as a writer thinking about posterity you should probably go out for a brisk walk or something.

	Shop & Support Poets.org Emily Dickinson Necklace The perfect accessory for the fashionable poetry lover, this necklace features the opening lines of Emily Dickinson's classic poem #1741. $80.00 | More Info View All Store Items

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If you find yourself as a writer thinking about posterity you should probably go out for a brisk walk or something.

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If you find yourself as a writer thinking about posterity you should probably go out for a brisk walk or something.

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Greetings to my knot of fellow Toads!

I'm lolamouse and I've crawled out of my mouse hole to introduce you (or reintroduce you if you’re already familiar) with the poetry of Billy Collins. Billy Collins (1941- ) was the U.S. Poet Laureate from 2001 – 2003. The New York Times called Collins “the most popular poet in America.”

Collins believes that poetry should be a part of everyday life. He introduced a school program called Poetry 180, an online poetry anthology for teachers to use with their students. It was named for the 180 days of the school year and for the 180 degree turn which Collins wants students to make toward poetry- listening rather than dissecting.

Introduction to Poetry

I ask them to take a poem

and hold it up to the light

like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem

and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem’s room

and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterski

across the surface of a poem

waving at the author’s name on the shore.

But all they want to do

is tie the poem to a chair with rope

and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose

to find out what it really means.

Collins’s poems are often deceptively simple. He uses common language and often writes about pedestrian life experiences. His tone is witty and welcoming. Collins may directly address the reader, an ambiguous figure whom he may have faced across the breakfast table with a bowl of cereal or held a door for at the bank. Despite his easy, conversational style, his poems often take a surprising turn and address difficult and profound topics.  

Take, for example, this stanza from The Art of Drowning (1995)

…Survivors would have us believe in a brilliance

here, some bolt of truth forking across the water,

an ultimate Light before all the lights go out,

dawning on you with all its megalithic tonnage.

But if something does flash before your eyes

as you go under, it will probably be a fish…

Collins has written over a dozen books of poetry, including The Trouble With Poetry, Nine Horses, and Horoscopes for the Dead.

Every morning since you disappeared for good,
I read about you in the newspaper
along with the box scores, the weather, and all the bad news.
Some days I am reminded that today
will not be a wildly romantic time for you...

(from Horoscopes for the Dead, 2011)

To read and hear more Billy Collins, check out the Poetry Foundation website, Poets.org, and this TED talk below.

And now (finally!) the challenge:

Write a poem of the ordinary but give it a Collins-ish twist. That is, write something accessible, simple, funny, etc. but when read (maybe a second time) shows us something about the experience of life in a more profound way. Or, if that doesn’t float your boat, choose one of Collins's poems and write a response to it.

Real Toads Interview With Margaret Bednar

source

Well, look who’s riding in from the farm! It’s our fellow Toad, Margaret Bednar! She’s looking mighty fine perched atop that horse of hers, but it’s making this Mouse a tad nervous, I gotta tell ya. Margaret has graciously agreed to give me some tidbits about herself, so let’s give the horsey a sugar cube and get started!

Lolamouse: You tell us in your profile that you are a wife, mother of 6 children, 3 dogs, 2 cats, and now 2 horses! By my count you also list 7 blogs on the sidebar of your primary site Art Happens 365, some of which are creative writing blogs, some photography blogs, some sketching, some cooking, and some combinations of the above! You also have a website, Margaret Bednar Fine Art, where your art may be purchased.

Margaret, where do you find the time?!!

Margaret: I really only have three main blogs, (Just Horses) being a natural extension when I bought two horses this past summer. The other blogs I created more for a “journaling” format - an easy way to showcase, or present, certain subjects instead of “linking” posts and they are found on my sidebar.

As far as finding the time? I watch very little TV... maybe two hours a week. I also have my handy dandy I-Pad and I get busy with it while waiting for my children after school, during math tutoring, theatre, dance...

Lolamouse: You say you've been on Blogger since 2010. When did you start writing? How about photography and sketching?

Margaret: I’ve always been interested in sketching. My “formal” art training is two years of high school art class. In my late 20’s I drew my infant son and it took me ten years to fill up one sketchbook, hiding it in my closet the whole time. My insecurity was not a good example for my children. I want them to embrace exploring their talents and that takes perseverance and lots of practice. Being good at something doesn’t happen overnight, so I needed to change my approach.

I started blogging to keep a journal of my drawing (Art Happens) and to help me get over my insecurity. I realize composition is key in a painting and that is why I took up photography (Art Happens 365). My interest in poetry took me completely by surprise as I have never been a reader of, nor been exposed to it. The first poem I wrote was in October, 18, 2010 and I have never stopped.

I plan on getting back to drawing and painting. I hope that my photography and poetry will translate into art pieces with layers of meaning, sentiment. We will see...

Lolamouse: So, do you consider yourself primarily a writer, a photographer, an artist, or some unique blend of all of these?

Margaret: Which do I consider myself, a writer, photographer, painter? I get so embarrassed when my children say “My Mom is a poet” or “My Mommy is an artist”... I don’t make a living by it nor have I been formally educated in the arts. I will say I am a person interested in and who has fun dabbling in all three, a blend.

Lolamouse: Your blogs appear amazingly organized and easy to follow. Any advice or tricks you'd care to share?

Margaret: My “organization” has been a gradual process. I am not very computer literate, and I have stumbled my way along. I am now in the process of labeling my past posts to a sidebar gadget. My advice is to study what you like about other blogs and then work on creating it. Send a message asking how something was done if you don’t know how.

Lolamouse: Is there anyone, either famous or personally, who has influenced your art?

Margaret: I have to answer that my fellow bloggers have been the guiding force. I learned watercolor techniques from blogs I followed. Poetry has been all about reading blogs and soaking in creativity. I am one who enjoys reading the comments and I have learned so much about how to read poetry, how to understand it! Instrumental in my learning process has been the feedback from fellow bloggers and my studying other blogs as well.

I have started reading famous poets. I am currently intrigued with Raymond Carver, due to his prosy approach to poetry. I have bookshelves of artists but off the top of my head, I would say Van Gogh, Georgia O'Keeffe, Will H. Bradely and... (I have so many, how to narrow it down)... Winslow Homer.

Lolamouse: It's the same with me! Other bloggers are really an inspiration! What do you enjoy about blogging and being involved with sites like Real Toads?

Margaret: Magpie Tales was the first poetry blog challenge I attempted and I don’t think I have missed a weekly challenge since. My very first poem written for MT is still one I am very fond of. It’s on my sidebar under “Top 2 Posts of All Time”.

Lolamouse: It’s so beautiful I had to reprint it here as well:



Mother’s Pearls Remembered

by Margaret Bednar, Art Happens, 11-10-10


Memories come flooding back

On the anniversary of my Mother’s death

Today as I place these gems around my neck

Hoping to feel her presence

Entertaining the idea of

Replicating her elegance in me

Stillness envelopes my soul



Perhaps it will be enough that they remind me of her

Enhanced by her inner beauty am I

As her physical beauty faded with time

Resplendent these icons stood guard

Lustrously gracing my mother’s neck

Standing watch as she breathed her last



Reflecting her eyes, their bluish tinge

Every shimmer adding beauty to

My appearance this day

Enormous love floods my being

Memory recalling her wisdom and

Bright engaging laughter

Every life lesson learned I from her

Recalled in this ornament which surrounds my neck

Eagerly I approach this day, celebrating

Desiring the true beauty these pearls represent



Lolamouse: What other groups do you follow?

Margaret: One Stop Poetry I stumbled upon, and it influenced me greatly both stylistically and structurally. It is no longer in existence but one can dip into their archives. dVerse, IGWRT’s, Poetry Jam, and the pithy “Friday Flash 55” with the G-Man keep me motivated and excited about learning.

Lolamouse: Do you have another poem that you’d like to share?

"Tattered Jackets" by Margaret Bednar, Art Happens, May 16, 2011

Soldiers standing upon my shelf

Stoically gathering dust.

These tattered jackets I so trust

to guard my soul, my inner self.

Pressed together, well worn leather

musty and old. The smell itself

reminiscent of wanderlust.

My mind's journey upon my shelf.

Lolamouse: Have you found any drawbacks to being involved in blogging and/or blog groups?

Margaret: The only drawback I can see is that dVerse and Magpie Tales gather a huge response, with often over 100 links. If a person felt they had to support every single link, it would be overwhelming.

I believe blogging has given me an increased internal happiness. I am naturally an outgoing person, but I do crave solitude now as I like to ponder poetry and study nature and figure out what perspective would best set a scene off to advantage. I mean, how many people want to stand around while I jot a word, phrase, or idea down and watch me take 50 photos of one object?

Lolamouse: Solitude? With a husband, 6 kids, 3 dogs, and 2 cats?!! Good luck with that! Is there anything you'd like to share with the Toads that may surprise them about you?

Margaret: Hmm. My two favorite video games are still Pong and PacMan.

Lolamouse: Oh my! I remember playing Pong on my family’s Atari! We must be around the same age, Margaret! Thank you so much for taking the time out from your horseback riding to mouse around with me!

Interview with a Mouse

Interview with Sheri Tardio, Lolamouse

 

Hello all my fellow Toads in the Garden. This is Susie Clevenger and I would like to say welcome. Today ‘s treat is an interview with our resident mouse, Lolamouse, Sheri Tardio. Sheri is a talented poet with a marvelous sense of humor.  She made my job extremely easy for which I am grateful. As I looked through the interviews I have done in the past….wait…there are no other interviews. This is my first one. 

When Kerry told me last week it was my turn to do an interview, my immediate response was, “Oh sh--! No she didn’t…Me? I don’t know a thing about interviewing someone.”  

After I went through all the reasons it shouldn’t be me, I took a deep breath and sent an e-mail with this request to Sheri. So I ask with shaky fingers, "Would you grant me an interview?" 

Sheri responded with, “And I answer with shaky fingers also…sure.”

(Since both our names start with an S I will refer to myself as Goddess to avoid any confusion. I so love referring to myself as a deity)

Goddess: So Sheri, what would you like your readers to know about you?

Sheri: I didn't do it! I wasn't even there! 

Oh, you mean about my poetry. Okay, I'm a 48 year-old wife, mom, and non-practicing psychologist. I live in Southern Maryland with my family and 2 dogs, a poodle and a Maltese. I volunteer for our local nature center, Meals on Wheels, and hospice. I have a dark sense of humor, have been called "weird" by my mother more than once, and have a miniature kitchen glued upside down to my own kitchen ceiling. My favorite movies are Donnie Darko, The Graduate, Lost in Translation, and Rocky Horror Picture Show.  Let's do the Time Warp again!

Sheri,“ Amazing likeness!”

Goddess: A dark sense of humor, I have a bit of that myself. Sheri, Ms. Lolamouse, your blog is titled Mouse Droppings. That is a very unique name. How did you come up with it? 

Sheri: Well, my online name is Lolamouse. Long story short...Lola is a pseudonym I made up for myself when I wrote (an entirely fictitious) reader's story for Playgirl magazine in college! It was a dare to see if it would get published; it did! The mouse part was from a high school nickname someone gave me because of my high, squeaky laugh when I really get the giggles. So Mouse Droppings seemed like a good name for a blog filled with my random, creative crap! As you may notice, I don't like to take myself too seriously.

Goddess: Playgirl and a squeaky voice…what revelations. I love it! When did you start writing poetry? Are there other poets who inspire you?

Sheri: I think my first poem was probably written when I was in about the first grade! It was about my Bubby (Yiddish for grandmother). I still remember it (such a timeless classic!)

     My Bubby is a lady

     of happiness and grace

     and when she smiles laughter spreads

                          all over the place!

My mother and grandmother both exposed me to poetry when I was very young, and I credit them with my love of it today. I remember my mother reading to me from Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verse. I loved the poem "The Swing." My grandmother gave me 101 Famous Poems as a 7th birthday gift, and I still have it!

I wrote poetry throughout junior high and high school but rarely picked up a pen during college or graduate school (to write poetry, that is). It wasn't until the end of 2010 that I began really writing in earnest again. That's when I started Mouse Droppings, my creative writing blog. Now that I'm writing again, I can't imagine not doing it. I would feel incomplete.

There are so many poets in the blogosphere that inspire me on a daily basis, many of whom reside in the Imaginary Garden. Fireblossom immediately comes to mind. Her imagery as well as her constant output just puts me to shame! I also love Mama Zen's pithy writing style. She always makes her point so well. Brian Miller over at Waystation One also inspires me. He has a great, gritty style that I'd love to hear at a poetry slam. He also manages to clone himself so he can comment on hundreds of posts every day as well as produce awesome poems, be a great dad, and I think he has a paying job too!

As for published poets, right now I'm reading Andrea Gibson. She's a very raw, emotional poet who tackles some really tough subjects. Whenever I'm feeling wimpy about getting too political or offending someone in my poetry, I read her work, and she gives me courage.

Goddess: My, you started writing poetry early. What fans the creative spark in you? 

Sheri: Mostly my interactions with other people. I volunteer with hospice, and my work with bereavement groups has inspired several poems. Relationships are a subject that gets my creative spark going. Having been a psychologist in the past, I find personal interactions fascinating and love to write about relationships. It would be a mistake, however, to think that all my poems apply to my own life! I'm also inspired by nature but find it difficult to write about without sounding cliched.

Goddess:You have another blog titled Rants from the Hormonally Challenged. What were your reasons for creating it? 

Sheri: Actually Rants came first. It came about because I started sending emails to friends ranting about annoyances in my life and how irritating I found certain people. After several of my missives, a few people started telling me I should start a blog. I had never considered it and had no idea how to start one, but one day I just starting playing around on Blogger and Rants was born! It's my kvetching blog whereas Mouse Droppings is my creativity blog.

   

Goddess: Seems you have found a very creative way to rant. What tips do you have for new bloggers who wish to make their blogs successful?

Sheri: I guess that depends on your definition of success. I never cared if my blogs had a huge readership, but I value the readers I have because most leave very thoughtful comments and we have great interactions.  I wasn't interested in making money from my blogs either, so I don't do ads. I consider my blogs successful because they are what I want them to be, and I've made some great friends through blogging. 

In terms of specific advice, if you want people to find your blog and keep reading, in the beginning, you do need to post often or people will forget about you. Twice a week would probably be the minimum; daily is better. Also, join other sites, like poetry sites. Comment on other people's posts (and actually read them; they know!) Oh, and post some naked pics of yourself or Jake Gyllenhaal.

Goddess: Some very good advice Sheri. Do you have a favorite poem you have written that you would like to share?

Sheri: That's always tough. I'll pick a recent one that I like a lot. It's called:

  

Dreams of Earth and Heaven 

When ink stained twilight descends

I search for you, my divine succubus

Black lace angel

Guardian of my secrets

Wrap me tight in your raven feathers

that I wear the veins in your wings

like those of my own skin

We will fly later

Now is the time

for earthbound delights

The night is dying

and the moon fades in the sky

like milk into morning coffee

Before you leave

Please lay a feather

silken and jet

upon my pillow

and I promise to dream

of heaven.

Goddess: I asked Sheri if there were any photographs she would like to include in the interview. With her panache this was her response. 

Sheri: I know you asked for photos, but I generally don't like to post photos of myself online except as my alter ego Lolamouse. Here instead is a lovely photograph of a capybara, the world's largest rodent.

Thank you again Sheri for accepting my request for an interview. You made it look like I knew what I was doing. I am a fan of your poetry and I look forward to reading more of your work. Oh, and I do love a good rant!