What I Read — April 2024

I’ve been out of town and feel like I have some catching up to do…

I finished:

Summer by Edith Wharton. I really really enjoy Edith Wharton’s writing. Gives me a Jane Austen vibe only different. 😊 It’s a story about a young stubborn and basically uneducated woman rescued from poverty (the ‘mountain’) by an older male patron who takes care of her in a small town. As she comes of age, he wants to marry her, yet she falls for a younger man that changes her life in two major ways — love and pregnancy.

A Primer for Poets and Readers of Poetry by Gregory Orr. I’ve had this book downloaded on my Kindle for at least eight years (keyboard Kindle) and did not read it until last month while visiting my parents in Arkansas. It’s a fantastic book! And just what I needed at this time in my poet’s journey. I got both comfort and inspiration from this book.

One quote that encouraged me (from p 21): When the poet translates her distress or confusion into words and then orders those words, she achieves what Robert Frost identified as a main goal for poetry: “a momentary stay against confusion.” I so get this….

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert. This is another book I had for YEARS on my shelf before reading it. I got so much encouragement from it. Now I’m a sure fan of Elizabeth Gilbert. I’m certain I’ll review it again and again just to get some motivation.

Currently reading (or supposed to be reading): The Runaway by Alice Munro; Hoops (poems) by Major Jackson; Ruth Hall by Fanny Fern; Bel Canto by Ann Patchett.