A mind like this / Susan Blackwell Ramsey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ramsey, Susan Blackwell.

Series:

Prairie schooner book prize in poetry

Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry

Language:

English

Physical Description:

xiii, 90 pages ; 22 cm.

Place of Publication:

Lincoln, Neb. : University of Nebraska Press, 2012.

Summary:

Winner of the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry, Susan Blackwell Ramsey's A Mind Like This is a work of humor and wit, unexpectedly delightful and full of surprises as it reflects on the oddness of everyday life, the natural world, literary history, popular culture, and more. Everything is fair game for Ramsey, who finds poetry in love and sickness and life, of course, but also in knitting and unreliable bladders and the peculiar name of Kalamazoo. Neruda makes an appearance, as do Eric Clapton and Brahms, Leonard and Virginia Woolf, and Jimmy Stewart.

Whether observing the pickled heads of Peter the Great's offenders, wondering "How to Seduce Henry David Thoreau," becoming the insecure voice of Kalamazoo, or puzzling over the intricacies of the mind that blocks a dear friend's birthday while preserving the name of Emily Dickinson's dog in perpetuity, Ramsey's collection is wise and funny, allusive and deeply felt. Book jacket.

Contents:

A Mind Like This 1

Pickled Heads: St. Petersburg 3

Louise Erdrich Learning Ojibiwemowin 5

Tell Me If You've Heard This One 7

Kalamazoo Decides She Likes Her Name 9

"And All Trades, Their Gear and Tackle and Trim" 10

Boliche 11

Peripheral: Emerson, 1847 13

Knitting Lace 15

The Due de Saint-Simon Buys Lady Murasaki a Drink 17

January, Tulips 18

Gaudeamus, Full Band Version 19

A Mind Like This 21

The Comfort of Pickup Trucks 23

Why I Hate Storytellers 24

Aftereffects of Bell's Palsy 25

Ode to My Bladder 26

Outside Interests 28

Learning Curves 30

Mount St. Helen's, May 18, 1980 32

Sexing the Alligator 35

The Sword 37

Mariah Educates the Sensitive 39

Crocheting Chaos 42

Children in Church 44

Beads 45

The Kalamazoo Mastodon 46

I'm in Love with Leonard Woolf 47

In Order to Swallow, a Frog Has to Close Its Eyes 49

Neruda in Kalamazoo 51

Deadheading with Kellee 52

Valentine's Day in Kalamazoo 54

Taking Jimmy Stewart to Bed 55

The Year Hits Perimenopause 56

Sow's Ear 57

Lilium Orientale 58

How to Seduce Henry David Thoreau 60

To a Picky Eater at Love's Table 62

August 63

Letter to Matt on the Opening Day of Deer Season 64

Stalling 66

Amplification 68

Sexing the Alligator 69

The Genome for Luck 70

Lidian Emerson Watches Her House Burn, Concord, July 23, 1872 71

Pattern and Ground 73

Consider Hairs 75

Emerson's Eyes 77

The Only Other Female in the House 79

Egg Tempera Painting, Koo Schadler, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts 80

The Tuesday before Our Friday Visit 81

Afterthought 82

Meeting Edward Lear in Heaven 83

Elegy from Halfway Up the Drive 84

Our Third Wedding Reception This Year Hits Its Stride 86

Pattern and Ground 87

Washing My Husband's Kilt Hose: A 32-Bar Reel 89.

Notes:

Poems.

ISBN:

9780803243385

0803243383

OCLC:

775780206