Forms of Feeling: Poetry in Our Lives, Essays & Interviews (Salmon Poetry)
Paperback
Condition: As New
Poetry gives form to our feelings and helps us come to terms with them. Facing a personal crisis, a poem can be the beginning of healing. But if poems are good in a crisis, they are also a way of reaching out for new experiences and renewing our lives. In FORMS OF FEELING: POETRY IN OUR LIVES John Morgan investigates the role of poetry in the contemporary world, including where poems come from, what the audience for poetry is, and the ways in which poetry can offer a spiritual path in a secular time. He also discusses a variety of approaches to writing poems, and spells out the importance of place in a poet’s work, focusing on his experiences in moving from New York to Alaska. At the same time, the book explores one poet’s development from a raw beginner to a widely recognized teacher and practitioner of the craft.
“How is it possible to live, in this culture at this moment, a life filled with poetry? John Morgan’s essays, meditations, and interviews answer that: like this, like this, like this. Morgan takes us from his student days at Harvard and Iowa to his days as professor emeritus, the span of a life lived in lines, a life of poetry. When the most critical challenges occur, like the terrible illness of a child, Morgan shows how vital precise language can be. Precisely located, mostly in Alaska, this prose is life-giving, grounded and smart.”
Peggy Shumaker, author of Gnawed Bones and Just Breathe Normally