Underground: New and Selected Poems by Jim Moore (Graywolf Press, September 2, 2014)
Underground is a hefty book of poetry, both in size (275 pages) and imprint. These are poems mostly of daily life observations, poems that wind their way into your own daily life, causing you to see the woman at the bus stop you take every day, or the barista at your favorite coffee shop in a new, refreshed light. Underground is Moore’s first retrospective collection of both selected and new poems, featuring poems from his previous seven books of poetry, as well as twenty new poems. Retrospective collections like this spanning a writer’s career are always daunting to me for reviews, as there is just so much to talk about. While I do my best to work through these poems, you’ll enjoy it more if you just buy the book once it publishes September 2.
I love Moore’s poetry because it’s so easy to enter his world with his simple yet profound language. He has a clear and confident voice that tremors with emotion when writing of politics or loss, while in another poem, casting an aura of delight around a daily moment. While reading through this glance at his life’s work thus far, I feel that he increasingly zeroes in on his subjects, his focus, his voice by his mid-career, and then his later and most recent work opens up again. This isn’t to say that they don’t have focus or voice, but rather, they have a light airiness about them, and often turn the eye back towards the reader. It’s interesting to see this trajectory and shift in atmosphere in Moore’s work throughout the years.
First section of poems from the 1975 book The New Body. This is work of a poet grounded in daily life observations, and writing in a direct, personal tone. A couple poems are for other writers, namely, Tom McGrath and Meridel LeSueur. His fresh use of language in a surprising fashion brings this section alive, which bubbles through in this first section of the poem “Music” for Meridel LeSueur:
I.
The cold egg of the snow cracks open,
broadens into chunks of fog.
10 A.M. and the street corner is invisible.
I turn on the electric heater, listen to Casals,
watch the branches like thin asparagus stalks
shrouded and growing under water.
Something lives here bigger than my skin,
larger even than the old man Pablo bent over his bow,
the old man Pablo brushing his quick strokes on paper,
the old man Pablo writing his last poem from a hospital bed.
Moore also quickly shows us that he’s just as adept with long poems as he is with short poems, such as the poem “How to Close the Great Distance Between People”, quoted here in its entirety:
Do it over coffee,
like fish that appear to be talking,
but are really eating to stay alive.
In the next section, from 1988’s The Freedom of History, we see the poet with his brow furrowed a bit more. He takes on politics (the Iron Curtain in Prague in 1980), rape, terrorism, and world travel. In selections from The Long Experience of Love (1995), includes familial poems about the speaker’s mother, father, an imagined son, daughter, friends, and more intimate portraits of people. The sections move on, shifting slightly in tone or subject, bringing the reader along the trajectory of Moore’s writing. Later selections show Moore as more pondering, often asking questions, wondering aloud without necessarily filling in the answers. This pointed awareness brings us into his world, and in turn, we bring his world into our own life routines, his questions and pondering thoughts following us throughout our day.
The final section of new poems, title “Twenty Questions”, starts with those questions again, and in fact, the first and title poem turns us back to that awareness of the surrounding world:
Did I forget to look at the sky this morning
when I first woke up? Did I miss the willow tree?
The white gravel road that goes up from the cemetery,
but to where? And the abandoned house on the hill, did it get
even a moment? Did I notice the small clouds so slowly
moving away?
This section includes a sparser, less-definite Moore. If wisdom comes with age, then wisdom for Moore is all about asking yourself questions, and probing deeper, always deeper. The lines of his poem stretch out, taking up space, and not worrying about the increasing white space between the lines. The form of these poems is confident and clear, just like Moore’s tone.
Mark your calendars for September 11, 7:00 pm for Jim Moore’s publication launch celebration for Underground at the Loft Literary Center. I’ve marked mine!
What other career retrospectives have you read that have stuck with you? Is there a writer that you’ve noticed a large shift in their work over time?
All I hear about lately in the Twin Cities literary scene is punch this, punch that, wanna get punched? No, Minneapolis is not getting over its Minnesota nice and finally going to B-E AGGRESSIVE. So what are they all so nutso about? It’s the new Twin Cities Literary Punch Card, which had its kick-off event last night at Club Jäger. Beers were had, tweeps met face-to-face, and elbows were rubbed with, well, everyone. It was a full house, eager to be punched.
The Punch Card is sponsored by a bunch of literary organizations in town (Coffee House Press, Milkweed Editions, Graywolf Press, Rain Taxi, and the Loft Literary Center), in partnership with a bunch of local, independent booksellers (Magers & Quinn, Micawbers, Common Good Books, and more). If you go to eligible literary events around town (most of them), you get your card punched. Once you fill it up (12 is the magic number), the punch card magically transforms into a $15 gift card to participating bookstores. It’s a great way to get the community excited and involved. Also a wonderful way to find out about some exciting events happening in the Twin Cities area with stellar writers.
For this week’s What We’re Reading, I’ve flagged a handful of upcoming Punch-eligible events that feature authors I’ve read recently. Click on them to find out more on our Mpls/St. Paul Literary Calendar, or visit Rain Taxi’s calendar.
1. Kathryn Kysar and Jim Moore (Sept 18)
If you haven’t read my What We’re Reading post on Kathryn Kysar‘s poetry collection Pretend The World, you should. It’s a beautiful collection on the reality of motherhood, of being a woman, and of nature.
I haven’t yet read much Jim Moore (do I see a Jim Moore WWR post in my future?), but he’s got loads of awards and published work. Have any of you read him? What is your take on his work?
2. Nancy Paddock (Sept 20)
I stumbled upon Paddock through my apprenticeship at Red Dragonfly Press, where I discovered many great poets. Paddock has a strong, calm voice, and writes about nature, the process of aging, and much more, always with a playful sense of wonder. This event focuses on her newest work, a memoir called A Song at Twilight: of Alzheimers and Love.
3. Danielle Sosin (Sept 22)
Sosin’s novel The Long-Shining Waters is on my list of favorite books from 2011. The story centers around Lake Superior, and the intense draw, frightening power, and dark mysticism it holds for three women, each living in different time periods near the lake. Sosin doesn’t just write the story—she crafts it. Each of the characters are significantly different, but are connected through this one natural landmark in such a unique and heart-wrenching way.
4. Ed Bok Lee and Bao Phi (Sept 24)
Lee and Phi are two spoken word poets who perform both on the local and national stage of slam poetry, with a big stir. They both explore racism, culture, and history with a fresh, current voice. While launching Lee’s and Phi’s newly released poetry collections (Whorled and Sông I Sing, respectively), this event also spotlights their publisher, Coffee House Press. It’s a slam-dunk evening with a reading, Q&A, conversation with the poets, spoken word artist Shá Cage emceeing, music from DJ Nak, and, of course, free refreshments. Check out the other spotlight events happening this fall, if you’re in town.
Are any other cities doing promotions like this to get literary people out and about? Have you read any of these writers? If so, what are your thoughts on their work?
What We’re Reading: Views from the Loft
Views from the Loft: A Portable Writer’s Workshop is a book that every writer should own. Published by Milkweed Editions, and edited by their publisher, Daniel Slager, it’s an anthology on the craft of writing featuring writers, teachers, and editors who have ties to The Loft Literary Center. It crams all the knowledge gleaned from workshops and classrooms into one slick volume. The book has the necessary umph behind it from these two powerhouse literary organizations to be able to bring in great writers and loads of insightful material. Slager’s introduction is a loving tribute to the Open Book building which Milkweed Editions, The Loft Literary Center, and the Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA) call home. I also love this building, having spent much time there as a past intern at Milkweed, a longtime fan of MCBA, and a frequenter of the café. Slager walks the reader through the building and the different organizations on each floor, which, paired with architectural and design elements, create the feeling of walking through the process of book creation. The Gail See staircase takes its design inspiration from the pages of a book, the MCBA gives the history of book and print making, the Loft fosters writers of all types, and Milkweed edits and publishes great contemporary titles.
The essays are chock full of conventional writerly wisdom, and some unconventional gems, too. It also includes interviews with writers, such as Deborah Kennan, Ted Kooser, Michael Cunningham, and more. The writers sometimes contradict each other, and other times echo each other’s sentiments, thus creating a diverse dialogue with each other throughout the book. Somewhere in all of that, you can find your own truth as a writer.
One of my favorite essays: “Tesoros” by Sandra Benítez.
Writerly advice:
“Your best ideas come while you are actually writing” —Larry Sutin in the essay “Working from Experience.”
“An essay that speaks with great clarity is one thing. An essay that speaks with great certainty is another. The former I trust.” —Jim Moore in “Twenty-five in an Infinite Series of Numbers.”
What sources of advice, inspiration, and guidance do you turn to as a writer? Have you had any experiences at the Loft Literary Center, or a similar classroom/workshop environment that was especially productive?
