Sometimes you write something and you know it's good. You suspect it might be among the best things you ever wrote. That you'll ever write. Sometimes, you write it four years before a global pandemic and, upon re-reading, are surprised at how prescient some of it seems. Here is my long poem, "Winter, Break" which … Continue reading It’s been months since we ventured anywhere/ and we resent the brightest days the most.
The presidential election has been decided and I can hardly bear to speak the name of the person who emerged as the victor. The soaring elation I felt as I walked into the voting booth with my daughter and watched her push the button that recorded our vote for the first woman to run for … Continue reading Calm
The internet tells me that today is the tenth anniversary of the finale of Six Feet Under, a series which aired on HBO from 2001-2005. Ten years ago today, my first child--my son-- was 18 days old and I was a frantic, euphoric, sleep-deprived, love-swallowed mess. Nevertheless, I was not going to miss the final … Continue reading The Story
I haven't been able to keep up with a poem-a-day pace, but this April has been extremely, surprisingly (given all of the other things going on--AWP, Conversations & Connections, semester end) productive and prolific for me. As of this morning, I've got 33 drafts toward a new project, about a fictional-ish character called "Round Baby." … Continue reading Getting to Know Her
For National Poetry Month, I am going to record some of my favorite poems and talk a little about what they mean to me. I hope you enjoy! https://soundcloud.com/sheilasquillante/sheila-squillante-reads-sparrow-by-caleb-curtiss Caleb is the poetry editor at Hobart, and a new friend. I picked up his book, The Taxonomy of the Space Between Us, at … Continue reading Loved Ones: “Sparrow,” by Caleb Curtiss
For National Poetry Month, I am going to record some of my favorite poems and talk a little about what they mean to me. I hope you enjoy! https://soundcloud.com/sheilasquillante/for-my-lover-returning-to-his-wife Just look at the metaphors in this poem! Each one vivid and still memorable to me, 25 years after the first time I read it … Continue reading Loved Ones: “For My Lover, Returning to His Wife,” by Anne Sexton
For National Poetry Month, I am going to record some of my favorite poems and talk a little about what they mean to me. I hope you enjoy! I must have first encountered "Pied Beauty" in a college literature class. I can't quite place it, but I remember I was immediately seduced by the idea … Continue reading Loved Ones: “Pied Beauty,” by Gerard Manley Hopkins
For National Poetry Month, I am going to record some of my favorite poems and talk a little about what they mean to me. I hope you enjoy! I encountered The Wild Iris for the first time in 1995, in a graduate poetry workshop at Southern Connecticut State University. My first marriage was brand new … Continue reading Loved Ones: “Snow Drops,” by Louise Glück
It's April, which means, besides spring (please), it's National Poetry Month! Poets I know are signing up to take part in NaPoWriMo, or pledging to write a poem a day on group blogs, like the excellent poets at Bloof Books. A few years ago, I participated in another poetry month project, NPM Daily, which was … Continue reading An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.
On Thursday night, I was honored to participate in the celebratory reading of the 2015 Public Poetry Project, which chose my poem, "This Weather" to publish on 1500 free posters that will go up around the state. It was delightful to see former Penn State colleagues and students, old friends and, of course, our old … Continue reading Weird Poet Gene
