Keillor has good taste, and most of the stuff he reads on "Writer's Almanac" is good."Letter Home," however, is more than good. It's spledid. It's pleasantly free of the inaccessible language and cryptic allusions that plague so much of today's poetry, and it stil manages to achieve a level of depth, particularly in its final, tone-shifting stanza.
Read the poem here, and if you like "Letter Home," you can see more of Steinbaum's poetry at her website.
In addition to her poetry, Steinbaum writes a column for the Boston Globe. She has said of writing: "I believe in the power of words. When we tell little children, 'use your words,' we are helping them take hold of their most powerful posession. Words can be abused, but they can also be used to make the world better--more coherent, more connected, more beautiful, more true."
Amen.
As always, feel free to share your thoughts on "Letter Home" or Ellen Steinbaum in our comments section below.
2 comments:
I just saw your blog for the first time and found this lovely, generous mention of my poem. Thank you! And even if you hadn't mentioned me, I'd love your blog!
Thanks so much for steering me to Ellen Steinbaum's work. it is truly wonderful.
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