David Graham
@davidgrahampoet.bsky.social
Retired teacher, unretired poet. Latest collection: THE HONEY OF EARTH, from Terrapin Books (2019). I'm also mad about photography. My website: https://www.davidgrahampoet.com/
Today it was time to re-read some Paul Violi. Facebook has many problems but one thing I like is that every day it often reminds me of something I have forgotten. Today my post from 10 years ago probably meant that I was first reading Violi's *Selected Poems* and enjoying it greatly.
February 26, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Today it was time to re-read some Paul Violi. Facebook has many problems but one thing I like is that every day it often reminds me of something I have forgotten. Today my post from 10 years ago probably meant that I was first reading Violi's *Selected Poems* and enjoying it greatly.
"... and like you
I have stopped at a corner and suddenly
staggered with the grace of it all. . . ."
I have stopped at a corner and suddenly
staggered with the grace of it all. . . ."
February 18, 2025 at 3:56 AM
"... and like you
I have stopped at a corner and suddenly
staggered with the grace of it all. . . ."
I have stopped at a corner and suddenly
staggered with the grace of it all. . . ."
P.S. Far-flung friends-- I forgot to add that there should be a video of the event. It should be available on Zoom at the time? And then later, I think, on YouTube. O brave world!...
February 4, 2025 at 4:34 PM
P.S. Far-flung friends-- I forgot to add that there should be a video of the event. It should be available on Zoom at the time? And then later, I think, on YouTube. O brave world!...
I brought this beauty home today. Hundreds of Le Guin's poems that I've not read. Oh boy! Plus her translation of Lao Tzu's TAO TE CHING, about which I've heard good things. And a little lyric to whet your appetite. I think this book will live on my desk for a good while as I savor and sip. . . .
January 31, 2025 at 2:02 AM
I brought this beauty home today. Hundreds of Le Guin's poems that I've not read. Oh boy! Plus her translation of Lao Tzu's TAO TE CHING, about which I've heard good things. And a little lyric to whet your appetite. I think this book will live on my desk for a good while as I savor and sip. . . .
A favorite poem by Lorna Crozier, one of my favorite Canadian poets. We poets in the U.S. don't pay enough attention to poets from our neighbor to the north.
January 6, 2025 at 10:48 PM
A favorite poem by Lorna Crozier, one of my favorite Canadian poets. We poets in the U.S. don't pay enough attention to poets from our neighbor to the north.
I'm reading Alex Dimitrov's LOVE AND OTHER POEMS and wondering, not for the first time, how many strangely good poets I somehow haven't heard of till now.
"I love the January sky and knowing it will change although unlike us. . . "
--Alex Dimitrov, *Love," a fragment of his "endless poem."
"I love the January sky and knowing it will change although unlike us. . . "
--Alex Dimitrov, *Love," a fragment of his "endless poem."
January 1, 2025 at 10:56 PM
I'm reading Alex Dimitrov's LOVE AND OTHER POEMS and wondering, not for the first time, how many strangely good poets I somehow haven't heard of till now.
"I love the January sky and knowing it will change although unlike us. . . "
--Alex Dimitrov, *Love," a fragment of his "endless poem."
"I love the January sky and knowing it will change although unlike us. . . "
--Alex Dimitrov, *Love," a fragment of his "endless poem."
Pine needle italics
December 30, 2024 at 3:27 AM
Pine needle italics
This is the only book of his I have--published posthumously.
December 28, 2024 at 4:28 PM
This is the only book of his I have--published posthumously.
I wish more poets talked about the late John Engman. I keep returning to his poems, which aren't quite like anyone else's. Here's one that brightens my day with his typical bittersweetness and humor. I wish I had any photos of glads, but I hope an amaryllis would work. . . . #poetry #forgottenpoet
December 28, 2024 at 4:26 PM
I wish more poets talked about the late John Engman. I keep returning to his poems, which aren't quite like anyone else's. Here's one that brightens my day with his typical bittersweetness and humor. I wish I had any photos of glads, but I hope an amaryllis would work. . . . #poetry #forgottenpoet
Zeno’s icicle droplet
December 25, 2024 at 9:42 PM
Zeno’s icicle droplet
A few years ago I was smitten by the poems of Anele Rubin's debut TRYING TO SPEAK, which won the Wick Poetry Prize from Kent State. Chosen & introduced by Philip Levine. I remembered it today and thought I should re-read it again. Here's a sample.
December 24, 2024 at 2:19 AM
A few years ago I was smitten by the poems of Anele Rubin's debut TRYING TO SPEAK, which won the Wick Poetry Prize from Kent State. Chosen & introduced by Philip Levine. I remembered it today and thought I should re-read it again. Here's a sample.
Charles Reznikoff has many wonderful tiny poems, along with his long poems. This one I've loved for 40 or 50 years.
December 22, 2024 at 4:49 PM
Charles Reznikoff has many wonderful tiny poems, along with his long poems. This one I've loved for 40 or 50 years.
The solstice says “everything on earth is True.”
--Jim Harrison. *Jim Harrison: Complete Poems* (p. 676). Copper Canyon Press.
["The Schroon River. December 2024." David Graham]
--Jim Harrison. *Jim Harrison: Complete Poems* (p. 676). Copper Canyon Press.
["The Schroon River. December 2024." David Graham]
December 21, 2024 at 4:45 PM
The solstice says “everything on earth is True.”
--Jim Harrison. *Jim Harrison: Complete Poems* (p. 676). Copper Canyon Press.
["The Schroon River. December 2024." David Graham]
--Jim Harrison. *Jim Harrison: Complete Poems* (p. 676). Copper Canyon Press.
["The Schroon River. December 2024." David Graham]
Lately I've been catching up with *The New Yorker Poetry* podcasts. Today I listened to Natasha Trethewey discussing Charles Wright's "Toadstools" with Kevin Young. I've like every podcasts I've listened to. This one is from 2019.
"Toadstools" from *The New Yorker*, 3 May 2010.
"Toadstools" from *The New Yorker*, 3 May 2010.
December 20, 2024 at 1:26 AM
Lately I've been catching up with *The New Yorker Poetry* podcasts. Today I listened to Natasha Trethewey discussing Charles Wright's "Toadstools" with Kevin Young. I've like every podcasts I've listened to. This one is from 2019.
"Toadstools" from *The New Yorker*, 3 May 2010.
"Toadstools" from *The New Yorker*, 3 May 2010.
Ah, those were the days. The holidays were looming, but I was still reading student papers and getting ready for finals. . . . I kept up my spirits by keeping a list of wonderful typos. One of my favorites was this one: "punctual errors." I should write that poem. . . .
Got any wonderful typos?
Got any wonderful typos?
December 10, 2024 at 1:46 PM
Ah, those were the days. The holidays were looming, but I was still reading student papers and getting ready for finals. . . . I kept up my spirits by keeping a list of wonderful typos. One of my favorites was this one: "punctual errors." I should write that poem. . . .
Got any wonderful typos?
Got any wonderful typos?
The UNSUNG MASTERS series is well worth checking out. The same series covers the late Wendy Battin, a poet I DID know about, and knew her a little, which in turn led me to the Bert Meyers volume. Both books are excellent.
www.kevinprufer.com/unsung-masters
www.kevinprufer.com/unsung-masters
December 9, 2024 at 3:01 PM
The UNSUNG MASTERS series is well worth checking out. The same series covers the late Wendy Battin, a poet I DID know about, and knew her a little, which in turn led me to the Bert Meyers volume. Both books are excellent.
www.kevinprufer.com/unsung-masters
www.kevinprufer.com/unsung-masters
"Low ceiling." Now that winter's fully begun, I seem to take many photos in color that mimic monochrome. This photo is from 3 years ago today--we're not at the lake today, but that lake view always soothes me.
December 2, 2024 at 5:08 PM
"Low ceiling." Now that winter's fully begun, I seem to take many photos in color that mimic monochrome. This photo is from 3 years ago today--we're not at the lake today, but that lake view always soothes me.
This may be the greatest tiny poem, the best elegy, and Merwin's best in the small lyric.
December 1, 2024 at 3:46 PM
This may be the greatest tiny poem, the best elegy, and Merwin's best in the small lyric.
Turns out that this new social media app is perfect for perfectly wonderful very brief poems. As it happens, I love brief poems. Thanks for those who have posted their own favorites, which have brightened my days in a blighted time. Here's a favorite by Jacques Prévert I've loved for a long time.
November 30, 2024 at 12:32 AM
Turns out that this new social media app is perfect for perfectly wonderful very brief poems. As it happens, I love brief poems. Thanks for those who have posted their own favorites, which have brightened my days in a blighted time. Here's a favorite by Jacques Prévert I've loved for a long time.
Probably the first great poet I fell for--back in college--was Denise Levertov. This poem has lived near my heart for all those years. Today it reminds me of Thanksgiving and much else:
"being / hungry, and plucking / the fruit"
"being / hungry, and plucking / the fruit"
November 29, 2024 at 2:08 AM
Probably the first great poet I fell for--back in college--was Denise Levertov. This poem has lived near my heart for all those years. Today it reminds me of Thanksgiving and much else:
"being / hungry, and plucking / the fruit"
"being / hungry, and plucking / the fruit"
A long memory (now even longer ago). I always liked the shadow of that great old tree, reminding me that trees are even older than our human buildings.
November 28, 2024 at 12:13 PM
A long memory (now even longer ago). I always liked the shadow of that great old tree, reminding me that trees are even older than our human buildings.
Here's to a safe & healthy Thanksgiving to all, and let us hope for a better year in 2025. . . .
November 27, 2024 at 8:10 PM
Here's to a safe & healthy Thanksgiving to all, and let us hope for a better year in 2025. . . .
To love objects is to love life.
The pure shaft of a single granary on the prairie,
The small pool of rain in the plank of a railway siding. . .
--Theodore Roethke. STRAW FOR THE FIRE.
The pure shaft of a single granary on the prairie,
The small pool of rain in the plank of a railway siding. . .
--Theodore Roethke. STRAW FOR THE FIRE.
November 26, 2024 at 5:02 PM
To love objects is to love life.
The pure shaft of a single granary on the prairie,
The small pool of rain in the plank of a railway siding. . .
--Theodore Roethke. STRAW FOR THE FIRE.
The pure shaft of a single granary on the prairie,
The small pool of rain in the plank of a railway siding. . .
--Theodore Roethke. STRAW FOR THE FIRE.
I heard Sarah Giragosian read today at SUNY Adk in their Writers Project series. Turns out she had just published a *new* book, unbeknownst to me. It's called MOTHER OCTOPUS, from which she read a generous selection. Here's one she didn't read today, the book's opening poem, a haibun.
November 26, 2024 at 12:55 AM
I heard Sarah Giragosian read today at SUNY Adk in their Writers Project series. Turns out she had just published a *new* book, unbeknownst to me. It's called MOTHER OCTOPUS, from which she read a generous selection. Here's one she didn't read today, the book's opening poem, a haibun.