Congratulations to A. E. Stallings . . . three poems in the May 2002 issue of POETRY magazine!
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And here is one of them: (for readers who may not have access to a copy) Arrowhead Hunting The land is full of what was lost. What's hidden Rises to the surface after rain In new-ploughed fields, and fields stubbled again; The clay shards, foot and lip, that heaped the midden. And here and there a blade or flakes of blade, A patient art, knapped from a core of flint, Most broken, few as coins new from the mint, Perfect, shot through time as through a glade. You cannot help but think how they were lost: The quarry, fletched shaft in its flank, the blood Whose trail soon vanished in the antlered wood, Not just the meat, but what the weapon cost-- O hapless hunter, though your aim was true-- The wounded hart, spooked, fleeting in its fear-- And the sharpness honed with longing, year by year Buried deeper, found someday, but not by you. A. E. Stallings |
It's always a treat to get a new issue of Poetry with "Stallings" on the cover, especially when there is more than one of her poems inside. "Arrowhead Hunting" is wonderful, one of Alicia's best I think. Not a wasted word, and such memorable lines and phrases. I especially love the description of the unbroken arrowheads as "Perfect, shot through time as through a glade." Congratulations, Alicia!
[This message has been edited by Catherine Tufariello (edited May 02, 2002).] |
I second Alicia's comments [oops, I meant Catherine's comments], though I would single out the following for special praise:
You cannot help but think how they were lost: The quarry, fletched shaft in its flank, the blood Whose trail soon vanished in the antlered wood, Not just the meat, but what the weapon cost-- The obseration itself is fascinating (I personally never stopped to reflect about how they were lost, though it's a fascinating question). And in a world where poets are warned against using too many adjectives, "fletched shaft" and "antlered wood" are so marvelous that the warning should be modified: don't use adjectives unless they're unusually precise and evocative, and sound great. (I also like the consonance of fletched and flank). I can't wait to buy the issue and read her other poems as well. [This message has been edited by Roger Slater (edited May 04, 2002).] |
Forgot to mention that Stallings' Arrowhead Hunting poem is in the issue of POETRY magazine with the arrowheads on the front-cover. Happy hunting, Roger! ;-}
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Thanks, Patricia, for the announcement. (How nice not to have to blow one's own horn...) & many thanks to Catherine & Roger & Tom for their very kind & generous remarks. I was quite tickled to see the arrowheads (or spear points) on the cover... it was a total surprise!
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Congratulations Alicia! I saw the issue. What an honor to have your poem influence the cover art. Poetry is one of my favorites; the perfect size of it, the feel, the history, the look. I have issues of that magazine going back to 1917 when Ezra Pound was foreign correspondent. Well, congrats.
Greg |
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