Tag Archives: Poetry

Just wait, to see what’s going to happen.

Posted on March 7, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

  Raymond Carver’s “At Least” I want to get up early one more morning, before sunrise. Before the birds, even. I want to throw cold water on my face and be at my work table when the sky lightens and … Continue reading →

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Regret Nothing

Posted on February 26, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

ANTILAMENTATION by Dorianne Laux Regret nothing. Not the cruel novels you read to the end just to find out who killed the cook. Not the insipid movies that made you cry in the dark, in spite of your intelligence, your … Continue reading →

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Mainly Miscellany

Posted on February 23, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Who knew that Edward Gorey designed the sets for the U.S. revival of the 1924 stage play Dracula ? I certainly did not, but this fascinating article on the terrific CrimeReads blog does a deep dive into the story. Andy Weir’s The Martian was … Continue reading →

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Pangur Bán

Posted on February 21, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Over the years, I have seen a few different translations of this ninth century poem written by an unknown monk in Old Irish at or near Reichenau Abbey in what is now Germany. This version was translated by the Nobel … Continue reading →

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Petit Livre d’Amour

Posted on February 14, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Your Valentine’s Day gift will have to be extraordinary to top  the Petit Livre d’Amour (Little Book of Love). This very elaborate handmade book was given by the 16th-century French poet Pierre Salas to his then lover and future wife … Continue reading →

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I prefer Grimms’ fairy tales to the newspapers’ front pages

Posted on February 13, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

POSSIBILITIES Wisława Szymborska I prefer movies. I prefer cats. I prefer the oaks along the Warta. I prefer Dickens to Dostoyevsky. I prefer myself liking people to myself loving mankind. I prefer keeping a needle and thread on hand, just … Continue reading →

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Counterfeit

Posted on January 31, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

A Counterfeit — a Plated Person —I would not be —Whatever strata of IniquityMy Nature underlie —Truth is good Health — and Safety, and the Sky.How meagre, what an Exile — is a Lie,And Vocal — when we die — … Continue reading →

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Read a little poetry

Posted on January 27, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

I can trace my love of poetry back to my 7th grade English teacher. For reasons lost to the fog of time, one day Natalie Fine handed me a book of poems by Langston Hughes and simply said, “I think … Continue reading →

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“The universe (which others call the library)”

Posted on January 14, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

Books, by Erica Jong  

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but then you read

Posted on December 30, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

“You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read,” James Baldwin  BOOKS by Hermann Hesse All the books of the world will not bring you happiness, but build a secret … Continue reading →

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