Music in the Park

Evening music at the park is my favorite summer activity, but I have seen few outdoor concerts in the past 15 months. Earlier this week, we learned that our favorite local band was playing again, and had a gig Tuesday night. Sitting in my folding chair at the park where the band played, I was …

Michigan Poet Philip Levine

On my sister website, Your Book Group, I published a reading by Detroit native and former Poet Laureate Philip Levine. You can read the post here: National Poetry Month #13 - Philip Levine.

Lake Michigan waves at sunset, and a poem

It was a windy sunset last night . . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y81Y17CfGzQ Poem courtesy of The Academy of American Poets - poets.org. Click HERE to see the website. O Sea, That Knowest Thy Strength Effie Lee Newsome - 1885-1978 Hast thou been known to sing,        O sea, that knowest thy strength?Hast thou been known …

Michigan Monday – Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie

The verse below is the first stanza of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s epic poem “Evangeline.” I’ve mentioned before that I have an affinity for Longfellow, I think because we read his poetry in elementary school and because his “Song of Hiawatha” is set in the Pictured Rocks area of Michigan on the southern shore of Lake …

“Memories of President Lincoln”

I don't share all of my posts from Your Book Group here, but this poem by Walt Whitman moved me. I'm posting here in honor of Presidents' Day (US holiday). https://www.yourbookgroup.com/monday-morning-whitman-in-honor-of-abraham-lincoln/

Jim and Genevieve

I was thinking last evening that I miss the comfort of hearing the grownups talk - parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles laughing, sharing family news, playing cards while we kids / teenagers / young adults hung around the sidelines or listened from the next room. My father died in 2017 (in fact, tomorrow is the …

National Poetry Month! Natasha Trethewey

Natasha Trethewey was named the 19th US Poet Laureate in June 2012; read more about her HERE.  She is from Mississippi and previously served as that state’s Poet Laureate.  Listen to her read her poem “Give and Take,” below.  It hits home for me and I imagine it will do the same for many of …

Michigan Monday – Jim Harrison

I am planning on making the next several Mondays Michigan Mondays, in which I feature authors who were born in Michigan, spent a significant part of their lives here, and / or set their stories in Michigan. I won't promise that I will hit this every single Monday - I do have a day job! …

National Poetry Month! Juan Felipe Herrera

I've been struggling with the perfect next post featuring a Poet Laureate, waiting for that connection that transcends words. I'm glad I waited; in the reading below, Juan Felipe Herrera speaks past my ears to my heart. Maybe he will do the same for you, and then maybe you will want more. He speaks for, …

Hymn – with an update at 10:41 pm est 4.14

I searched a long while for the right poem to share today. I never found it. Instead, listen to this profoundly comforting farmyard poem written by Garrison Keillor, set to a melody you will recognize. Give it 30 seconds; it's kind of corny at first but is mostly sublime. Editing to add that I have …