July 17, 2020
Edited by Jane Greer, 1981-1993 Plains Poetry Journalpublished a poet who revived the traditional tools of “rhyme, meter, alliteration, attunement, and careful attention to diction” that had been abandoned in favor of free verse. (These poets included names well known in Catholic circles today, such as Anthony Esolen and Mike Aquilina.) Then, as they say, life happens and things happen. Greer did not write a single poem for almost 30 years.
But God’s ways are unpredictable. After 30 years of silence, Greer suddenly thought of the poem while sitting in a cafe in New Orleans. This began a steady stream of production that led to her new collection. love like a conflagration (This also includes poems from her only previous book).
Greer’s poetry is musical, intense, and accessible, and draws from many of today’s leading Catholic poets, including past podcast guests Samuel Hazo, James Matthew Wilson, Anthony Esolen, and Mike Aquilina. It has received high praise. Hazo writes: “There is not a poem in this great book that will leave you unchanged or forgotten…Each of these poems is as forever current as it is complete. [Greer] It puts a passion on the page that American poetry has long lacked. I have never read anything more poetic, beautiful, and honest. ”
content
[2:57] The style and target audience of Jane’s work
[3:53] The introductory poem is Love like a conflagration, “Michael”
[9:00] Configuring the collection
[12:22] “Her Green Desire”
[16:19] Jane’s 30-year hiatus from poetry and her providential return
[23:13] “At Café Pontalba”, Jane’s first poem after 30 years of silence
[25:27] Jane’s beginnings and early influences as a self-taught poet
[30:30] “Because God Willed It”, a poem about unrequited grace
[34:28] The relationship between Jane’s spiritual life and her poetry
[38:12] Dealing with desire in “Passerby’s Song” and “Pastoral”
[45:08] Founding and editing of Jane’s work Plains Poetry Journal
[50:27] “Bourbon, NEET” and pure wordplay
[55:34] The immersive musicality and power of Jane’s poetry
[57:50] “Feminist Androgyne”
[1:03:15] “The Haunting”
[1:05:09] Poem written in the voice of Lazarus: “Twice Betrayed”
[1:10:49] “At the Bourbon Orleans Pool”
link
Read “Michael” https://isi.org/modern-age/micha-el/
love like a conflagration https://lambingpress.com/product/love-like-a-conflagration/
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