Ten Poems to Last a Lifetime

I have read every poetry book Roger Housden has written and I owe him a huge debt of gratitude. He has introduced me to poets I would never have met and now just love. Unfortunately, usually the only poetry books one finds on the shelves are the tried and true. He has some of those sprinkled in, but he also has some you will never know about unless you read his books. His commentary is very personal and enlightening. If I have any negative criticism, it is that he sometimes belabors his personal life a bit too much. But be patient, he'll forge on and once caught in the poetry, leaves the personal behind. I have written to him to ask him to please continue to write these books. I believe he has set a limit of six poetry books. Not nearly enough!! More!! More!!

I was at first giddy at the reading of this on my evening walks stepping lightly over each word until the streetlamps weren't enough. Then I hit page 102 in the darkness and stopped as it hurt to finish. Poetry to me is a friend, as it is I'm sure to this platinum tongued author. But when religions are tackled, compared and bent with stark preferences it shuns the other ends, the other strands of belief like a flag untended years in the wind. My religion might have a hint of a devil and good and bad apples, but it has always been my friend, and yes, I am a woman. I suppose each book has its worm, and I found it embroidering its hungry politics on page 102 of this otherwise very fine linen.

Roger Housden uses a unique format: he chose 11 superb poems, and followed each by his own commentary and fascinating anecdotes. In addition to offering works by famous poets, such as Billy Collins, John Keats, and Mary Oliver, he introduces readers to the marvelous poetry of relatively obscure modern poets. Dorianne Laux once thought of taking her own life but was kept alive by the kindness of strangers: "A woman holds the glass door open, waits patiently for my empty body to pass through.... a retarded child who lifts his almond eyes and smiles. Somehow they always find me, seem even to be waiting..." And then there is Naomi Shihab Nye stating, "Know you could tumble any second. Then decide what to do with your time." What could be truer than that? Each poem is a small but mighty message in this power-packed 185-page little volume that deserves a place on your bedside table, or to be read, like the great now-deceased James Wright's poem, in a hammock where "the cowbells follow one another into the distances of the afternoon."

These poems are well chosen and sensitively understood. Soulful read-aloud book to share.