15 Jun Remember: The Poet is Not Necessarily the Speaker in the Poem

Alert: the pre-pub sale period for A Habit of Landscape began June 12 and lasts until August 13 with discounts on the book and a chance to help the writer establish the number of copies to be printed. Please know this is not publish on demand but small, independent presses–particularly of poetry– need to be able to project a reasonable run of books.  You can order now at www.finishinglinepress.com.  Click the menu for Products on the left, then select Advanced Copies and you will reach my page for ordering.  Books are scheduled for deliver in October.  If you have difficulty ordering, please contact me.

On another note: one of the most frightening requests a writer can hear from her editor is “write a description of your book.”  Really?  I thought that was what a publisher was for.  Teeth chattering, legs shaking, I am forced to think: what is this all about? But again, isn’t that what these poems are for–to create ground for interpretation?  Why give away what I don’t know?

I say don’t know because poems are shape shifters.  I pick them up now and they’ve changed again, and maybe I’ve changed, wanting to edit here, slow down there.  Are they ever finished? A panic hits me as I realize I have some strong poems not included here, the challenge of writing a poetry ever evolving.

So, dear readers, I conjured up a “description.”  Of course, there are three versions, but no worries, I only quote one here.  Please order the book and decide for yourself.  Maybe you’ll add a review later, and thus add to “the description.”

Description

Taking its inspiration from the root commonalities of the words, “habit,” and “habitat,” A Habit of Landscape explores the theme of holding or dwelling–a kinship realized through place.  Discrete moments range from encounters with a pronghorn to speculations on adoption, from the quotidian to what one reviewer calls “the holy.”  Built on the poetry of story, these landscapes invite the reader into a mythos of experiences–ones which reside not only in region or personal space, but in the sacrality of the moment.