Fire in the Pasture: 21st Century Mormon Poets
. . . the bounty of [this] anthology reminded me of Christ’s generosity in feeding the five thousand. Christ took real substances—a little bread, two small fish—and he created from them . . . food that nourished the people and made it possible for them to return to their lives both physically and spiritually renewed. Poets take matter (language, emotion, thought, experience) and make of that matter a new creation, a work of art that did not exist before the poet organized it, a work that has the potential (each poet hopes) to nourish—to make readers see what they did not see before, to offer insight, to create empathy, to provoke thought, or to express beauty, soundness, depth. To offer abundance in place of scarcity.
–Susan Elizabeth Howe
Random Posts
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Between Michael Hicks and Me: “Family Tree” Remix
11 December 2011 8:21 AM | No CommentsIn which I respond to and remix the first section of Michael Hicks’ poem, “Family Tree.” Scales hoarse as secrets whispered between lovers at dusk, a serpent—and not a serpent—licks at Adam’s dreams, tasting his flesh to test what knowledge ...
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Public Uses of Poetry: Two AML Proposals
22 February 2013 10:41 AM | 2 CommentsI submitted two proposals for this year’s AML Conference, both poetry-centered, of course. Here they are: Proposal 1: Live Poetry Anthology: Mormon Poets Read (Two full sessions) Based on the success of the two poetry reading panels I organized for...
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On Deja Earley Playing “Housewife for Halloween”
31 October 2011 8:00 AM | No CommentsAnthology Poet Highlight 14/82: Deja Earley, “Housewife for Halloween“ Deja has published a number of poems on the web (see here, here, and here for starters). But I thought “Housewife for Halloween” was an appropriate choice for the day. I...
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But We are No Eden: Emily Stanfill’s “Then I Became Eve”
10 November 2011 10:26 AM | No CommentsPoet Highlight: Emily Stanfill, “Then I Became Eve“ What strikes me most about the poem, first, is the way the poet “verbs” the adjective innocent, using it not to describe her Eve—as in, “I am/was innocent/an innocent person”—but as a...
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The Urge and Urge and Urge of Danny Nelson’s “Creation”
15 November 2011 8:05 PM | No CommentsAnthology Poet Highlight 28/82: Danny Nelson, “Creation” Danny’s “Creation” revises the Old Testament’s opening text. As such, it delves deeply into the “procreant urge of creation,” a phrase straight out of Whitman. Indeed, in Danny’s poem, as in Whitman and,...
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Alex Caldiero Archive
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Situating Sonosophy: De/Constructing Alex Caldiero’s Poetarium
Posted on June 19, 2012 | No CommentsBack in April, I presented some of my recent research on Alex Caldiero’s performance poetics at the annual conference for the Association for Mormon Letters. Since then I’ve been thick in the middle of preparing for, then taking (and passing!),... -
21st Century Mormon Lyricisms
Posted on April 10, 2012 | No CommentsI originally read this essay, in which I officially announced the publication of Fire in the Pasture, at the 2011 conference of the Association for Mormon Letters, held March 26, 2011. I read and commented on several poems in part... -
My 2012 AML Conference Proposal
Posted on December 20, 2011 | No CommentsI just submitted this proposal for next year’s Association for Mormon Letters Conference. The conference theme: “Going Forth Into All the World: Mormon Literature in an International Church.” I hope it tastes international enough for the organizers’ palate. * *... -
Alex Caldiero’s “Seeing a Body”: The Shape Sound Makes
Posted on November 6, 2011 | No CommentsAnthology Poet Highlight 20/82: Alex Caldiero, “Seeing a Body” This poem, which I’ve taken to calling “Seeing a Body” for ease of reference, melds performance and content in order to compel an awareness of the body’s connection to the earth...
