On the Death of Poetry and of Death in Poetry

A surprising abundance of new work has appeared in the early months of this year. This latest update includes a couple poems, including "Obsessed," regarding which I also gave an interview. I hope that poem will crack you up where it is supposed to and sober you up where it intends. "Late April Snow Storm" was written last year, when the snow wouldn't quit; this year, although we have snow in the forecast for this week, most people here in Michigan wish the snow could come back to stay for awhile, if only so we could get a little more skiing in up north.

The feature essay this month in "The Patient on the Table," my long-requested and long-awaited response to a pair of essays Matthew Walther wrote about the death of poetry (although the moment of mortality seems to have been a bit wobbly along with everything else). That essay argues that poetry is not dead, but the other three essays included here all address the poetry of death: John Finlay's final poem and prayer, before he died of AIDS; the poetry of Lent, from Eliot and Donne to the present; and a short essay on a special poem by Joseph Bottum, which emerges from the other side of death (including ritual death) to hear the bells of Easter.

Also collected here is a short essay discussing the Martyrs of Communism project on which I have been working with the Benedict XVI Institute. There is much to say on this subject, and this article is a short one compared to some of the other essays discussing it; on the other hand, it is the only place where you can find quotations from my poem, "Stanzas for the Chinese Martyrs," which the composer Frank LaRocca has set to music and which will have its world premiere in May.

Please click the icons below to read and enjoy. But see below also for a picture representing a special offer. I am offering two sets of signed copies of all four of my full-length collections of poems. My request is for a donation of $100 for each set. If you are interested in supporting my work in this way, please simply click on the picture below, which will take you to my Contact page. I can take payment in several different forms and am very grateful for your support.

Easter blessings to you, wherever this little letter finds you.

"Obsessed" and an Interview with James Matthew Wilson

"The Poetry of Death and Resurrection"

"Late April Snow Storm"

On Joseph Bottum's "Easter Morning"

"Archbishop Cordileone’s Vision: Honor Martyrs of Communism With Music, Art and Literature"

"The Patient on the Table: On the Somewhat Exaggerated Death of Poetry"

"John Finlay's Prayer to the Father"