Poems to inspire

  • Columns & essays,  Events & news,  Poems to inspire,  Poetry

    Remembering Margo LaGattuta

    My eyes like old glass windows, dusted with lost days, are ready to hold the new light.” — Margo LaGattuta, from “Pretending to Be a Barn” I found the e-mail from another writer-friend early this morning. It wasn’t unexpected, though I’d learned only two days ago that Margo LaGattuta was suddenly terminally ill. “Margo died peacefully tonight, surrounded by her sons and sisters and friends….It was quite beautiful and I just know she’s writing a poem about it….” It’s never easy to lose a mentor or a friend, and the best we can hope for is one last chance to say thank you. Which is why I am grateful to…

  • Events & news,  Poems to inspire,  the challenges of being original

    “Wild Geese”

    Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination.” — Mary Oliver “Wild Geese” is another favorite by Mary Oliver, whose Pulitzer Prize-winning poetry I’ve shared in previous posts. Listening to Anne Lamott’s Word by Word, an audio CD on creative writing, I learned that Lamott posted this poem near her desk — and advises all writers and artists to do the same. “Wild Geese” touched a tender place in my soul and freed something deep inside me. As a child, I was often frightened by the Biblical edicts outlined in the organized religions of my family and neighborhood friends. And I was terrified of…