Marie Ponsot, poet, translator, teacher, stroke survivor, nonagenarian writer of acclaim who wrote for twenty-five years in obscurity, single mother of seven (six of them boys!), lifelong Catholic, writer of my all-time favorite poem “Among Women” and co-author of one of my all-time favorite childhood books, The Golden Book of Fairy Tales, died a few […]
MoreIt’s a good thing I passed by a playground before I found the cemetery I was on the hunt for. Because “Happy Mother’s Day, I see dead people” is twisted, even for a twisty elf like me. But I do see dead people this Mother’s Day—my mother who died the week before Mother’s Day […]
MoreThe Problem of Gratified Desire by Marie Ponsot If she puts honey in her tea and praises prudence in the stirring up she drinks, finally, a drop of perfect sweetness hot at the bottom of the cup. There will be pleasures more complex than it (pleasure exchanged were infinite) but none so […]
MoreI’m trying to get this post up quickly—too many things to get done and my daughter gets home from Cameroon today—so I’ll skip the fanfare and get right to it. I put an assortment of poems for Father’s Day around town. Three of the poems are fathers addressing daughters. Another poem is a father’s […]
MoreCongratulations to poet Marie Ponsot, who was just announced as the 2013 winner of the prestigious Ruth Lilly Prize. The prize, established by the heir to the Lilly pharmaceutical fortune, honors a living American poet for lifetime achievement. At $100,000, the prize is about the heftiest a writer can receive. I’m delighted. 91-year old Ponsot […]
MoreAmong Women by Marie Ponsot What women wander? Not many. All. A few. Most would, now & then, & no wonder. Some, and I’m one, Wander sitting still. My small grandmother Bought from every peddler Less for the ribbons and lace Than for their scent Of sleep where you will, Walk out […]
More“Girls’ weekend” and “death” really shouldn’t keep company, but a few weekends ago they did, and all things considered, it was nice. This November, for the first time in 23 years, my high school girlfriends gathered without our friend Christine, who died at the tail end of last year. The remaining eight of us weren’t […]
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