Poetry Friday Roundup is here!

~ jama

Welcome to Poetry Friday at Alphabet Soup!

Please help yourself to a mug of coffee, tea or milk and a blueberry crumb bar — just the thing for hopping from blog to blog and reading some good poems. 🙂

To set you on your way, thought I’d share a poem from Mary Szybist’s Incarnadine (Graywolf Press, 2013), which won the 2013 National Book Award for Poetry. I like the intersection between the temporal and the spiritual, the dissolution of will and ego while singing praise for the divine glory of the world. And, too, in this day and age of blatant self aggrandizement, it is humbling to contemplate Mother Nature’s largesse as well as her indifference to our inconsequential and fleeting existences, our infinitesimal obsessions.

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“Blueberries’ Great Escape” via Dogwood Studio Alaska

 

HERE, THERE ARE BLUEBERRIES
by Mary Szybist

When I see the bright clouds, a sky empty of moon and stars,
I wonder what I am, that anyone should note me.

Here there are blueberries, what should I fear?
Here there is bread in thick slices, of whom should I be afraid?

Under the swelling clouds, we spread our blankets.
Here in this meadow, we open our baskets

to unpack blueberries, whole bowls of them,
berries not by the work of our hands, berries not by the work of our fingers.

what taste the bright world has, whole fields
without wires, the blackened moss, the clouds

swelling at the edges of the meadow. And for this,
I did nothing, not even wonder.

You must live for something, they say.
People don’t live just to keep on living.

But here is the quince tree, a sky bright and empty.
Here there are blueberries, there is no need to note me.

~ from Incarnadine (Graywolf Press, 2013).

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This poem appears near the end of the book, a sort of benediction. The entire collection is luminous and deeply thought provoking, with inventive explorations of the divine in everyday life. The National Book Award judges citation reads in part: “This is a religious book for nonbelievers, or a book of necessary doubts for the faithful.” Definitely worth a look — Szybist is a poet’s poet.

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Speaking of which, Heartfelt Congratulations to Juan Felipe Herrera, our new U.S. Poet Laureate, and Jacqueline Woodson, our new Young People’s Poet Laureate! Way cool! 🙂

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Now, please leave your links with Mr. Linky below. Don’t forget to include the title of the poem you’re sharing or book you’re reviewing in parentheses after your name. The links page will stay up indefinitely and can be accessed at any time for your reading convenience.

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Thanks for joining us today. If you’d like the Blueberry Crumb Bars recipe, click over to Smitten Kitchen. Cool thoroughly before slicing and enjoy with a side of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. 🙂

 

Have a wonderful weekend!
(Here there are blueberries, here there are poems.)

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Copyright © 2015 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.

53 thoughts on “Poetry Friday Roundup is here!”

  2. Thank you for hosting, Jama, and for sharing Mary Szybist’s understated and joyful poem. — “what taste the bright world has,” —
    I’m missing the blueberry bushes we had before we moved, though I buy blueberries each week at the store. Your post makes me as happy as Sal. :0)
    [I’m still rockin’ nursery rhymes this week.]

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  6. A psalm of blueberries! I cannot think of a more deserving fruit! Thanks for hosting, Jama. I love the poem. I’m in this week with Anne Porter. I love her as much as blueberries.

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  10. It’s still a few months before the blueberries are ripe here! But, we’re lucky to live in a time where blueberries can be purchased year round! Have a delicious weekend!

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  13. Hi, Jama, thanks for hosting and making my mouth water with your blueberry celebration. I even printed off that recipe! Meanwhile, my post today features Amy Ludwig VanDerwater interviewing Lee Wardlaw about WON TON AND CHOPSTICK– complete with visual. It’s so fun!
    Sylvia

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  15. Thanks for hosting, Jama, I enjoyed your post! (Then again, I love anything with blueberries!) As I read the poem, my mind immediately went to Frost’s “Blueberries.”

    Today I’m sharing a short poem I wrote just last night, in honour of a very special female in my life who is celebrating her 17th birthday: http://wp.me/p2DEY3-1hg

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  17. Oh, Jama, Szybist’s book is one of my all-time favorites – just beautiful work! Thanks for finding the words for what it is she does so well. The blueberry poem is like a prayer, isn’t it? Reminds me of John Donne. Another Szybist favorite of mine is “Annunciation Overheard in the Kitchen.”

    I’ve left a Mr. Linky link for 1)The Drift Record and 2) Books Around the Table this week – I’m in with a poem at TDR by our new Poet Laureate, Juan Felipe Herrera (who also writes books for kids!!), and over at BATT I offer up some thoughts about “a room of one’s own.”.

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  18. Jama. how delectable your offerings are this week. My husband bought two pints of blueberries so maybe I will try our your recipe. Thanks for it and for hosting today.

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  19. Mmm blueberries. I live in Maine where blueberries are everywhere. I made a blueberry rhubarb crumble last night for dinner. Thank you for hosting!

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  20. Thank you for hosting this glorious feast of poetry. You are making me hungry for blueberry everything — crumb bars, muffins, pastries. Mmmmm! Love the great news about Jacqueline Woodson. Once again, thanks for giving us a place to gather.

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  21. Thank you for hosting, Jama. I mention you in my post today. 🙂 And thanks for this lovely poem and that amazing recipe. I can never find blueberries in bulk around here — how I’d love a blueberry crumble!

    BTW, should we be able to see the list of links right in your post, or do we have to click the “add your link” each time?

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    1. The links don’t appear automatically in my post — WordPress.com doesn’t support a widget that will do that. Sorry.

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  22. Blueberries are everywhere this week! I just finished Cynthia Lord’s new middle grade novel, A HANDFUL OF STARS, and now I come here and find more blueberries! I’m actually not a huge fan, but I love this poem/psalm. I want to go looking for other work by Szybist. Thanks for introducing us to this poet and for hosting today. I’m posting a poem by Juan Felipe Herrera, in honor of my students, who live so seamlessly in two language worlds. http://carolwscorner.blogspot.com/2015/06/poetry-friday.html

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  26. “Here there are blueberries, there is no need to note me.”

    So beautiful, Jama. Thank you for introducing us to this book which I am about to order. Love.

    This time of year is so grand; here we anticipate strawberries by month’s end! Jam!

    Thank you for hosting with, as always, such deliciousness. xo

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  28. Szybist is very deep and rich, with a strong voice. I think even the blueberries hear it. What a lot of work you do for each post, they are like dinner parties with every detail thought out and prepared ahead. You’re an inspiration, Jama.

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  29. There’s nothing like wild Maine blueberries! Must go check the front woods! I’ll bet they are almost ready. loved the last line of the poem.

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  31. Thanks for the pic of those luscious, blueberry crumb bars, for leading me to a new book of poetry, and for hosting today. I’m sharing an original poem about a nest on my deck!

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  32. Yum to the fabulous blueberry crumb bars. I love the blueberry poem.
    It definitely illustrates that just living is valuable in and of itself. We don’t always have to be trying so hard. Thank you for sharing that. And yes, congrats to Jacqueline Woodson!!

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  36. Such a gorgeous, thought-provoking poem! And I love the art you chose- especially the colors and the snoozing dog. And now I’ll gladly help myself to one of those blueberry bars. Mmmmm…. delicious. I wouldn’t expect any less from you 🙂

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  37. This is my first Poetry Friday, so thank you for being my first host! Blueberries are my son’s favorite. I make him a blueberry cake for his birthday, so I know he would love this too.

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  39. Yummy blueberries and delicious poem. I’m making a lemon blueberry cake this weekend for a celebration, but this poem makes me want a slice now!

    Thanks for hosting today.

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  41. Thank you for sharing this poem. I am now going to look out for this book. I am struck by the intersection of the mundane and profound. Completely lovely poem.

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  42. What a beautiful poem! I am especially drawn to poetry that evokes a strong sense of place and leaves you longing for something. This one was amazing! Thanks so much for sharing, Jama!

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  43. We LOVE blueberries here! Would love to take my girls blueberry picking like in the poem…but until that day we’ll just have to continue with the market variety and cook it into everything we can! The crumb bars look delicious (love smitten kitchen).

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  45. I love Smitten Kitchen! Unfortunately, am dieting, but I would break the diet for one of those bars! Or two, or three!
    (Just to let you know you might want to repost your link on Weekend Cooking, as it seems to go to the edit post link and not to the post itself, so the link didn’t work.)

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