America's Poet Laureate

There's a wonderful article/interview in the July 13, 2009 Newsweek (p 63) about Kay Ryan. She's the Poet Laureate of the United States. It briefly chronicles her, at first reluctant, journey to publication. That in itself was interesting and full of the rejection pitfalls that many aspiring writers endure. Also covered are some of her published works and how she became Poet Laureate.

But it's her poetry itself that is so stimulating, and thought provoking.

Tenderness and Rot

Tenderness and Rot
share a border.
And rot is an
aggressive neighbor
whose iridescence
keeps creeping over.

No lessons
can be drawn
from this however.

One is not
two countries.
One is not meat
corrupting.

It is important
to stay sweet
and loving.

Ryan started with the self publishing route, then moved to small presses, finally graduating to "a major trade house. . . the poet whose first work was self-published commands poetry's biggest platform."

An interesting read about one writer's journey.