Lines and Meters

A stanza may be quicker to read than a paragraph, but that doesn’t make it easier to consume. Those running short on time but demanding a challenging read will appreciate these poetry-heavy books.

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5 questions: Michael Baldwin

1. How did you get started writing poetry and what made you want to publish a book? A wonderful college English teacher introduced me to poetry, and I fell in love. I wrote my first poem during and as a reaction to the Cuban missile crisis when many people thought the world was about to be destroyed in a nuclear holocaust. I’ve been writing poetry like the world might soon end ever since. I originally intended to be a scientist, but the civil rights movement of the ’60s captured my attention in college, so I studied political science instead. I have maintained an avid interest in science, and I use poetry to express many of the concepts of science in ways I hope will resonate with nonscientists like myself. 

2. How do you suggest people approach reading poetry, especially if it feels daunting to them? Some poetry can seem daunting because great poets bring a new way of seeing reality through their poems and then use metaphor, simile, and other devices to illuminate the essence, the various possibilities of an object or experience. Obviously, this unusual perspective can sometimes make us uncomfortable or confused. Read the poem several times, seeking understanding of what the poet is expressing. Often a poem is not meant to be grasped intellectually, but to be experienced emotionally. 

3. Are you working on anything currently, whether for eventual publication or just for enjoyment? I’m always in various stages of writing. I have a novel out seeking a publisher. I’m in the early chapters of another novel. I just finished a poetry chapbook based on the messages we often encounter and ignore, such as “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear” or “This page left intentionally blank.” I’m currently writing a nonfiction book on the neuroscience of poetry. 

4. What effect do you hope your writing has on your readers? I hope my writing gives readers pleasure but also stimulates their curiosity and sense of wonder at how amazing is the world and the universe. Many of my poems emphasize the beauty, fragility, and sacredness of nature and the need to protect it from our worst impulses. I want my poetry to help people find reasons to laugh, to weep, to wonder, to show compassion, to love. 

5. What book have you read recently that you would recommend? For those who would like to learn more about how to enjoy poetry, Fooling With Words by Bill Moyers and Can Poetry Save the Earth? by John Felstiner. I’m currently reading I Is an Other by James Geary, which explores how metaphor is the hidden basis of language.

1. Scapes 

by Michael Baldwin

Local author and poet Michael Baldwin explores all types of scapes — landscapes, heartscapes, mindscapes … but not escapes — in this Edward Eakin Memorial Poetry Award-winning compilation. Michael deftly paints beautiful imagery with a hint of wit and humor in his poems, making them enjoyable and thought-provoking.

2. Brown: Poems 

by Kevin Young 

In Brown, Kevin Young, director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and poetry editor for The New Yorker, shares 32 evocative poems that intertwine the personal and cultural experience of all things brown and calls us to notice their impact on each other.

3. Dominicana 

by Angie Cruz 

Fifteen-year-old Ana Cancion feels trapped and lonely in America after marrying a man twice her age and leaving her home in the Dominican Republic with the hope of giving her family a chance to also immigrate. However, when her husband must return to the Dominican Republic to protect his family’s assets during political turmoil, Ana begins to discover how differently a life in America could look. In this highly anticipated novel, Cruz gives us a taste of the immigrant experience in a powerful coming-of-age story.