Pittsburgh Books

Had a collection of Kathleen Norris's poetry come out a few years ago, I would have bought it, and never had the pleasure of searching for and finding her earlier, out-of-print books. For those less motivated to hunt for Falling Off, The Middle of the World, The Year of Common Things, and Astronomy of Love, this is perfect buy as it includes most of the poems in those collections as well as poems from her more recent book of poems, Little Girls in Church.

The cover art isn't especially beautiful (surprising since it is a University of Pitt Press book) and the title is a bit weak, but let neither of these things discourage you from purchasing the book. If you're a fan of any of KN's work (non-fiction or poetry), you'll want this collection. If you're a ardent reader of contemporary poetry, you'll want this collection. If you'd never read poetry beyond high school, you'll want to open this book, as it will surely make you hungry for more poetry.

Like her instructions to angels in her poem "Excerpts from the Angel Handbook," she is always asking us to be open and wary, skeptical and believing, and dreaming and restless. Her poems implore us to be better than we are, to listen more closely to the music in our head, and to watch out for and care for the lonely traveler, the needy neighbor, the lost among us, and the loving.

Now I see so clearly on the days
when rain turns to snow
wind passes quickly
along the surfaces of things,
how calmly it probes this chilly place
where I have moved
with everything I own.

~ from Evaporation poem 3

While reading Kathleen Norris' poems, I cannot help feeling nostalgic for a life I've never lived. Then, suddenly she writes about a part of a life I have lived and I can somehow relate to both situations.

I started to read this book months ago, and then finally decided to read three poetry books all in a row. I am impressed with Kathleen's poems because they take many forms and express a wide range of emotions. She is the ever-observant poet who can remember the exact details of her experiences, right down to the exact wording of various conversations.

"Excerpts from the Angel Handbook" threw me into an instant state of amusement. In this poem angels are instructed in such important principles as hiding their wings or listening and never telling a lie.

You will never tell a lie,
but you will have many secrets.

In fact, the poem amused me so much... I am going to send it to a friend who claims he is an angel. I'm amused.

Then, onward to the erotic musings in "The Dancers." In this poem, a preacher's daughter reveals her thoughts about a farmer boy.

Through reading Kathleen's poetry, you enter her inner world and peer out through her words, observing the sheer magnificence of a world in which a poet dances.

The first few poems( 1969-1973) seem to have a coolness in their observation. By the time you reach "Inheritance" on page 31, you can feel Kathleen starting to really delve into her deeper emotions.

The poems from 1982-1986 are filled with surprises. Anyone who loves to cook will enjoy the exuberant "Pommes de Terre." If you are looking for something a little more innocently erotic, you might enjoy "Young Lovers with Pizza."

By the time you reach the poems from 1987-1999, you have seen Kathleen explore so many emotions and worlds. She seems to be returning to deeply rooted traditions. She says goodbye to those she loves, she seems to be searching for meaning and then finally seems to find a place for God in her life.

I also loved the last poem and especially the last six lines about the bumblebee.

~The Rebecca Review

This book brings back the memories of this wonderful amusement park. Sixty years ago PPG in Creighton, Pa. would have a train especially for their annual picnic at Kennywood. From the towns along the Allegheny River picked up the employees to spend a wonderful day at the park. The train stopped and it was a long walk up a steep hill to enter Kennywood. What a worthwhile climb! Happiness was spending a full day there. PPG gave out prizes at drawings for their employees at a designated area.
Many different ethnic groups had their day at Kennywood. There were great picnic areas. The grounds were always clean. The landscaping crew had flowers everywhere. Buy Rick Sebak's DVD on Kennywood.
It was great seeing all of the recorded (photographs) and narration on a part of personal memories at a wonderful setting that many of us will never forget and cherish forever.

This was a very interesting book, especially for one that went to Kennywood while growing up - school picnincs, family visits, band trips for Fall Fantasy parades, dates, etc. to see the history of Kennywood.

I would recommend this book to anybody that grew up in the 'burgh & went to Kennywood.

I'm taking a class on Deep Image poetry, and let me tell you, I had a hard time differentiating between deep image and surrealism. I consider myself to be a surrealist so it was hard to bridge the small gap, but Bly did a wonderful job of walking me through what deep image is in this work of art.

'In ancient times, in the "time of inspiration", the poet flew from one world to another, "riding on dragons".... They dragged behind them long tails of dragonsmoke.... This dragonsmoke means that a leap has taken place in the poem. In many ancient works of art we notice a long floating leap at the center of a work. That leap can be described as a leap from the conscious to the unconscious and back again, a leap from the known part of the mind to the unknown part and back to the known.'

So begins one of the most fascinating books I have read in the past several years. Robert Bly gives us his wonderful idea about "leaping", surreal poetry and pays homage to the modern masters of this method, largely Spanish poets such as Neruda, Lorca and Vallejo. Involved in this idea are the concepts of Wild Association and the presence of three brains involved in a complex relationship within the human mind.

After this book, you will never look at art, any art, the same way again.

This is a well written and informative book. I believe Central Asia is one of the future areas of trouble in the world, and this is a good introduction at a reasonable price. I recommend it along with Tolstoy's Hadji Murad, translated by Aylmer Maude and Blanch's The Sabres of Paradise.

This is a book which should not be missed if you are interested in the Caucasuses in general and Chechnya in particular. It should be required reading for all students of Russian history and all counter terrorist experts who may not specialize in the Chechen situation. Gammer has written an eloquent, witty, compassionate and utterly fascinating book jam packed with cultural tidbits which make understandable the recalcitrant nature of the conflict between Russia and the clannish Mountaineers. It is, also, unusual to encounter a nuanced understanding of the reception of Islam into Chechnya and how it has played out vis a vis the gazavat, evolving into jihad, in some sectors. One of my few quibbles would be that I would have liked more on family and gender relations though this is not to say that there is not valuable references to be found here. It seems to me that this book had to be written first but it is hoped that in the next, more space will be given to this underlying conflict. On the geo-political scale, Gammer aptly identified the problematic issue of pathological control, the desire to engineer 'peoples' lives and language' which inevitably fails. This is a stellar book which is sure to be come a classic.

Luke Swank may have come to his career as a photographer rather late in life (born into to a wealthy family whose life was inexorably altered by the Great Depression) and became a popular journalistic photographer, even later acknowledged as one of the first of the Modernist School photographers. Then after his death his contribution to the visualization of America from 1920 to 1940 through the lens of his Pennsylvania based camera fell out of sight. Now due to the fine work of Howard Bossen the boxes of photographs kept by his wife have been reassembled into a major photographic exhibition of his life's work: this superb book serves not only as the catalogue for that exhibition but also fills a much missed gap in the journalistic reportage of America under duress.

While other photographers have captured the resolute spirit of Americans during times of stress (such as Disfarmer and Dorothea Lange), Swank's motivation was not to document tragedy but merely to observe, capture on film, and utilize the developing room to create art of the images he elected to immortalize. The collection of one hundred and forty photographs includes people at daily routines, deserted streets scattered with flakes of the ruins of the Depression, portraits of people, landscapes, magnificent architectural studies, and objects for still life. His eye was sensitive and his manner of developing his photographs, emphasizing light and shadow in the most dramatic fashion, was astoundingly unique.

Perusing the images in this book, all well informed by Bossen's commentary, is a subtle journey back to the times when the country ached under depression but somehow found the courage to celebrate beauty in the strangest places. Hopefully this book and this exhibition will restore Luke Swank's position as one of America's foremost artists of photography. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, December 05

Luke Swank (1890-1944) was a photographer of the 1930s. Up until 1930, he was a used-car salesman in his hometown of Johnstown, PA. Five years later, photographs of his were being shown at an exhibition at the New York Museum of Modern Art. Unlike Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange, Swank's photographs did not aim to portray the trials and anguishes, or the rural or industrial ruin of the Depression. Although the viewer cannot help but see Swank's photos in some respect through this historical and social lens. Swank's works are recognized as being of the 1930s from the clothing of the individuals, cars, buildings, incidental advertising in the scenes, and the equipment, towers, etc., of the factories. Besides mostly regional photographs of western Pennsylvania including Amish, farm buildings, plain rural people, and steel factories, the characteristic element of Swank's photographs is the varying pitches of darkness, or shadows. One hundred and forty plates of photographs of this fine photographer grouped into subjects such as Steel, Circus, Rural Architecture and Landscape, and others following the front matter of a biographical essay and one on each of the subject groups of the photographs.

One cannot escape the brilliant beauty of Kathleen Peirce's poetry; not that any would ever wish to.

MERCY by Kathleen Peirce is an extraordinary book. The images presented in this collection of poetry will stay with you for a long time, and you will find yourself repeating lines of the poems to yourself throughout the day.

In 2003, Fred "Mister" Rogers departed this world after a lifetime of public service to all children.

In a day when many people from all points on the political spectrum had eagerly reduced `compassion', `equality' and `pro-child' to catchy, but ultimately divisive and meaningless words, he continued to bring out the best in everybody.

He is one of the few people in this world deserving of all his awards/honors and then much more.

As evidence of his timeless appeal, I never tired of watching his namesake PBS children's show. Even when I was much older (and out of the intended demographic service range), I loved the truly nurturing environment regularly brough into my living room. Well before I realized my parents were not getting along (eventually divorcing), Mr. Rogers "told" me via daily broadcast that good families come in all structures, and the family format is subsequently less important than how the individual members treat eachother and themselves. When my parents finally did divorce in high school, I had been so helped by Roger's work, I immediately flashed back to his reassuring songs.

That the sets were decidedly showing their age in places by the late 1980's, and the cast themselves featured in some segments had died mattered much less than their overall mission of helping ALL kids navigate an often unforgiving world in uplifting and supportive tones.

The mostly male ensemble cast of the neighborhood (although this changed in latter seasons) was not problematic in the long-run for this feminist, because it suggested an alternate male sexuality that was built on empathy and peace as opposed to macho swaggering. It was okay for men of all ages to cry, hug and freely embrace a side of themselves that Western culture remains fixated on suppresing.

At a different developmental stage in the human life-span, kids were smart, and did not deserve the condescending behavior so many other adults (including those on `educational/children's' programming) spew at us in the pursuit of ratings and the almighty American dollar.

Unlike PBS's other "flagship" children's program, Sesame Street (now famous for abandoning the original-audience at-risk urban kids to focus on the offspring of suburban yuppies), Mr. Rogers always remembered his audience, and never sold out or let us down.

Even when growing partisan political battles and budget cuts provided powerful incentive to follow suit, he made sure principles were more than abstract words. All children had an inalienable right to be treated with respect and dignity.

From tackling such edgy subjects as the RFK Assassination to hostages and war, Mr. Rogers always both captured and nurtured his audience's imagination. Talking things out wasn't necessarily high-tech or flashy, but it was unbelievably better when compared to letting personal feelings bottle up inside.

Adding to the quality, Rogers was scrupulous about not parading his religious affiliations (licensed minister in the Presbyterian Church) as the reason his advice should be taken.

For my generation with the unfortunate timing to grow up with the beginnings of a markedly aggressive televangelist craze, his conduct provided a welcome alternative to the less-than-admirable actions of other adults in our world. It was not enough to simply apply religious freedoms to one's self, they belong to every citizen.---including those of differing perspectives and no religious affiliation.

Thus, the most constructive educational pedagogy was one that did not continually promote any religion (or the formal absence) but far more civil neutrality.

As with so many other people, I never got to personally thank him for the gift, but I know I am using it whenever I think both critically and compassionately about the larger world around me. I also know I am not the only one who remembers him through this type of a tribute, and our collective efforts will produce the best kind of off-screen "neighborhood" possible.

The not-so-subtle discounting of this very same instructional idea by self-appointed educational guardians suggests both how far ahead of his time he was and effective Rogers truly remains.

RIP Mr. Rogers.

i found this book remaindered for a very low price, but it is totally worth the full list price. a respectful, intelligent look at the great man Fred Rogers and his TV show that isn't even a TV show, really... varying points of views. the essayists only occasionally become too weirdly academic or navel-gazing. i like the production values on this hardcover, too -- it's fully cloth-covered with a full cloth, smythe-sewn binding, acid free paper, and neat endpapers. the back cover photo rules, too. 2003 May 3rd is the Mr Rogers memorial ceremony in downtown pittsburgh -- go!

In the eight-page poem "Sleeping Lessons," "Adirondack chairs lay fractured on/the lawn, dismantled by the storm." The poet knows of the destructive, uncompromisng power of storms. Yet a few lines later in this same poem, this "weatherman at heart...imagine[s] and therefore remember[s] perfect forms." In "Sugaring," he realizes "the world was one behind the guise of leaves." No matter what may come into the poet's life, he always, by a combination of instinct, belief, and willfulness, searches for unity at least; and often, better, the heartening, heady feeling of redemption and transcendence.

Night Mowing is a collection of free-verse poetry by Associate Professor of English Chard DeNiord. Many poems feature a wistful first-person narrative tone. Speaking to both minute and profound subjects, and the resonance of memory long after the event has passed, Night Mowing evokes lengthy contemplation from brief inspiration. I Get Up When I'm Dead: The earth is more beautiful / to me now than when I was alive. / I am wise at last, laughing / at my grave, confusing my dates. / These clothes I wear were laundered / by the sky, pressed by earth. / I'm different now but still here, / smoking a cigarette that won't go out, / writing nothing down, finding everything / I lost but no longer need. / I'm never tired or hungry anymore, / although I continue to sleep in order to dream / and eat to taste the salt I craved. / Nothing has changed. / My heart has stopped, stilling my blood, / settling my thoughts. / I am still alive, slipping down / the street like the shadow of a cloud.

With her exquisit sense of integrity and fear of putting the reader in trouble because of her deep search of the self, the author begs the reader not to leave her alone while developing one of the most beautiful (sometimes painful) vision of life itself. La Lispector takes a deep breath and with courage, develops an intriguing story, where through the eyes of a cockroach, she is able to feel, taste and experience her (our) "Human Condition". She grabs our hands, with some kind of despair, but promisses not to let anything do us harm until the story is over. At the end, swetting hands, a sense of relief and the strange feeling that something has changed. (Rubens Barbosa

a pity, this book should be out of print / it is difficult - painful - to read; and to discover that it does not talk of Clarice, or of any unknown protagonist, but of each one of us; of you!

A sensitive exploration of the anguish and sometimes guarded hope that spring from loss. Elegantly, movingly written, without artifice or fashionable tropes. The finest book of contemporary poetry I have read in years.

This award-winning volume by the gifted Sandy Solomon is a stunning collection of gems. Ms. Solomon directs her clear vision on a variety of subjects and the results reflect her graceful use of language and unflinching attachment to truth. I eagerly await her next volume.