APPETITE
Cosmic realism, creative nonfiction, fantasy, fiction, memoirs, poetry, short stories, A.S. Peterson, Andi Ashworth, Andrew Peterson, Annie Dillard, Billy Collins, C.S. Lewis, Dave Eggers, Flannery O'Connor, Frederick Buechner, Jane Kenyon, Jeffrey Overstreet, J.R.R. Tolkien, Kate Daniels, Kathleen Norris, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Leif Enger, Madeleine L'Engle, Marilynne Robinson, Mary Karr, Michael Pollan, Sigrid Undset, The Holy Bible, Walter Wangerin Jr., Wendell Berry, and so on.jennilovesbooks
Jenni Simmons
Houston, TX
United States
TABLE TALK
“Hello! Can't wait to read with you!
—librarydork, 943 days ago
PUBLIC NOTES
The book: What is the book? Am I slow? :)
Spoon River Anthology
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
He knew all along: This poem is fascinating in light of the whole book being epitaphs spoken by the dead, more truthfully than when they were alive. Only death could provide such brutal honesty vs. whatever they told Richard Bone. I bet he nods as each dead person speaks in this book.
Spoon River Anthology
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
What is Truth?: I think Masters is asking us - the readers - this, too, don't you think? What is Truth?
Spoon River Anthology
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Journalism: This entire poem was very powerful to me. It's still a great admonition to journalism today, don't you think?
Spoon River Anthology
Monday, August 10, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Tragic: So sad, especially after reading about Hamilton Greene on the next page. Elsa divulging her secret - proclaiming her son while he lies near her in the graveyard - is a brilliant literary tactic.
Spoon River Anthology
Monday, August 10, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Yikes: What an awful man, but he "collapsed at last with a shriek." No wonder.
Spoon River Anthology
Monday, August 10, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
God-searing: Yep, definitely shattering the myth that small-town America is God-fearing here.
Spoon River Anthology
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Breathless: Some of these poems leave me breathless with sorrow, as if I was buried along with the person.
Spoon River Anthology
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
A little humor: "Spiritus frumenti" made me laugh! Though sad, too, since he drank himself to death. Perhaps a bit of dark comedy? Which reminds me, does any of this remind you of Flannery O'Connor? Or does it contrast her manner of grittiness?
Spoon River Anthology
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
The narrative mended?: I think the narrative has come back together somewhat, with the repetition of names, don't you?
Spoon River Anthology
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Anti-church: Do you gather that Masters was anti-church/Christianity?
Spoon River Anthology
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Five senses writing: Again, I can really see/taste/smell/etc. this poem - the cider, "a flaming west," "autumn smoke," and so on. I can even see Hare looking up from his grave at those "hovering over him."
Spoon River Anthology
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Unique name: Just want to say I love the name "Indignation." It says so much about this man, doesn't it? It paints quite a visual.
Spoon River Anthology
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Poetry indeed: Gorgeous, gorgeous writing here.
Spoon River Anthology
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Hope: Finally, a glimpse of redemption! Though Masters's writing has been beautiful throughout, it is pretty depressing overall. I've been craving redemptive elements, which I see in Emily Sparks's prayers for "her boy," and "the beautiful love of Christ."
Spoon River Anthology
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
A common thread: Masters did a great job of weaving a common thread through some of the characters, and I imagine more to come as I read the book. In the case of the Pantiers, you learn a story from one spouse, then another, then their son, then Emily Sparks. Using people as chapters - and free-form poems at that - is most inventive.
Spoon River Anthology
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
A haunting "genealogy":: I love that the table of contents is a list of people's names. Though they are fictional, their story comes alive through Masters's creativity in naming, much like Adam, who I recently heard Makoto Fujimura call a poet. Also, I can't help but recall Biblical genealogies. "Genealogy" might not be the right word here, but it seems fitting somehow for an account of the deceased community in the fictional Spoon River, IL.
Spoon River Anthology
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Marriage: At least the second depiction of a tragic marriage. It makes me wonder if some of Masters's biases come through the characters' narratives? But that is part of being a writer, I suppose. You must let the characters speak for themselves, but they are influenced by the author somewhat.
Spoon River Anthology
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Fletcher McGee: Visceral, painful writing here (though beautiful). And who to believe - Fletcher or Ollie?
Spoon River Anthology
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Mrs. Simmons: I wonder if she's like me. Eerie. :)
Spoon River Anthology
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
A child, or diminutive? : "the Artist Petit" - a child or a short person? Mournful and mysterious, either way, which I gather this book will be.
Spoon River Anthology
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
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