In Captivity by Camille Guthrie ff. Inspired by the Medieval tapestries of the Hunt of the Unicorn in the Cloisters, Camille frames human experience as a hunt in various forms, some obvious and some shrouded in ambiguity. Mesmerizing and complex, this collection of poems captivates the reader with

Take Heart by Molly Peacock ff “Dear Heart,” a poem toward the end of this collection begins “Heart, unlock yourself. Fibrillating wings/Undo your ungolding.” This heart, sealed away, cut off from life, is an emblem for the entire book and for the poet’s struggle to recover from a childhood of abus

Body of Work by Tina Cane ff. In this evocative work, Tina explores a vast range of topics, from concrete vignettes depicting the poverty of her Chinese immigrant grandparents to a cosmic perspective on motherhood. In the first section, REALITY SERIES, we are introduced to the theme of the passage

Blood Atlas by Lynne DeSilva Johnson, 90’s?. As in all atlases, geography is central. From Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn in the first poem, near the Marcy housing development, to the candles melted into Himalayans, to the ride on the Hudson Line, we are reminded of the importance of place and of a car

Ism is a Retrovirus by Matthew Hupert, late 70’s?. In the section of this poetry collection titled Ars Poetica, Matthew gives his 10 Top Tips – For Poets. Among them is the warning, “If all your poems sound/ the same you/’ve only written one poem.” No danger of that in this work where every poem s

The Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon by Willie Perdomo. New York Puerto Ricans might find themselves in a familiar world in this collection of poetry, but non-Puerto Ricans will discover a portal into a culture which, though close by, is not well-appreciated. These poems memorialize Willie’s uncle,

The Matrix, Poems: 1960-1970 by N. H. Pritchard ff. When I first came to Friends Seminary, Norman Pritchard was Poet in Residence. I don’t know of anyone else who ever served in that capacity. He floated about the school in a long white robe; I thought of him earlier this year when I passed throu

Secular Pantheism by Matthew Hupert ’78. I have been thinking about this title. Pantheism, a religion that believes that the divine or God is immanent in nature, is at the opposite pole from the secular, which sees neither the divine nor God anywhere. While this poet appears to be mostly secular, wh

The Analyst, Poems by Molly Peacock ff. Powerful emotion is the engine for powerful poetry, and this collection of poems erupts from a raging furnace fire. Behind the fraught story of the poet and her analyst is the violent childhood that propelled the poet into treatment. During the decades of an

Dear Elena, Letters to Elena Ferrante, Poems by Tina Cane ff. I feel quite privileged to have number 136 of 150 copies of this gorgeous book with artwork by Esther Solondz. (Other printed versions are available too). My project of reading books by the Friends community has led me to other works,

Voice’s Daughter of a Heart Yet to be Born by Anne Waldman ’62? This work combines prose poems and verse in a trip Offworld with an embryonic version of Thel, the heroine of Blake’s Book of Thel. Often intensely close to the actual working of a mind troubled by finality, Anne’s work can read like a

The Master Thief by Camille Guthrie (ff). This haunting epic poem is rife with evocative allusions to the brothers Grimm and other purveyors of classic lore. Camille’s poem drew me back to read and reread and led me to some classic tales I had never read. You would think that her image of blood stre

Diamonds, Poems by Camille Guthrie ff. With Diamonds, Camille Guthrie lets her hair down. If Mrs. Maisel and T.S. Eliot had a love child, it would be Diamonds. I laughed my way through many of these poems but still took care to keep my iPad handy. After all, there was plenty to check up on: Picts

The Crazy Bunch by Willie Perdomo ’85. If you’d like to take an anthropological trip to a different culture right within the confines of Manhattan island, this book is for you. These poems take you into a classically compressed weekend during which a group of young men in Spanish Harlem come of age

Invasive Procedures, Earthquakes, Calamities & Poems from the midst of life by Nan Socolow ’55. This collection of poems reflects on love, complicated love, death, children, nature, aging, and our place in the universe (very small - we peewee earthlings/are less than a wink). Each of these lean p

Manderley, Poems by Rebecca Wolff, middle school in the 80’s. I picked this work because I had just read Nora Olsen’s homage to Daphne du Maurier (Maxine Wore Black)and wondered how Rebecca Wolff would incorporate Rebeccainto her own poetry. Early on we see that the connection is through the world

Once More with Feeling by Tina Cane, ff. Tina’s collection of poems, grounded in New York and family, reflects the welter of feelings engendered by the city and her particular parents . A group of poems called SIRENS depicts the poet’s childhood on the gritty streets of the East Village where siren