Poetry Collection Brings Together Writings about Pandemic
2020-05-11
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1As the new coronavirus spread in March, Ada Limon struggled at first to write.
2The American poet said she felt "flattened and silenced" by a pandemic that had shut down much of the world she knew.
3"I could call nothing to me. I'd think of a sound, a word, a subject and it was all failing," she told The Associated Press.
4"I would look at my own poems and think that even their subject that I was tied to, still felt distant to me."
5By April, she had found inspiration to write. What she wrote was far from a traditional poem.
6Instead, it was a list of what she felt was no longer within her reach.
7Limon ended the poem with a cry, "I am asking you to touch me."
8She named it "The End of Poetry."
9"I didn't know what it was going to do, but it felt a great relief to list things that I could no longer access," she said.
10Limon's poem is among more than 80 works included in a collection called "Together In a Sudden Strangeness."
11The anthology will be available as an e-book on June 9 and as a hardcover book in November.
12The anthology's name comes from Chilean poet Pablo Neruda's work "Keeping Quiet."
13The poem includes the lines "we would all be together/in a sudden strangeness."
14Alice Quinn is a former poetry editor with Alfred A. Knopf publishing house and New Yorker magazine.
15She collected works for the book.
16"Poets have always been those we turn to as witnesses," she said.
17"Poets can crystallize a moment like this."
18Book writers will likely take months or years to fully examine the pandemic and its effects and put their thoughts into words.
19But the art of poetry has an immediacy to it that makes creation possible in the middle of a historical period.
20At least one well-known poet, Julia Guez, is known to have the coronavirus.
21A poem of hers is included in the collection. It is called "If Indeed I am Ill, Brother."
22"Together in a Sudden Strangeness" also includes works from poets who are also doctors, such as Amit Majmudar's "An American Nurse Foresees her Death."
23The collection has poems about loneliness and grief, and one on becoming a parent during a time of social distancing.
24The book will includes a work from Major Jackson, a prize-winning poet based in Vermont.
25Jackson says many poets he knows have had difficulty writing during the pandemic.
26He says they feel "guilty because of the anxiety they express, as if they are less of a poet."
27Jackson said he and his wife, poet Didi Jackson, told themselves they would write every day once they began sheltering in place.
28His poem, "Invocation," is a call for better times and for a renewal of old times.
29It reads:
30We want the father in the park running behind a child pedaling into her future.
31We want to turn a corner and stumble upon the muted concert of two men in an embrace with entangled eyes.
32We want to hear a far-away train whistle cast a spell on the coming night.
33I'm Ashley Thompson.
1As the new coronavirus spread in March, Ada Limon struggled at first to write. The American poet said she felt "flattened and silenced" by a pandemic that had shut down much of the world she knew. 2"I could call nothing to me. I'd think of a sound, a word, a subject and it was all failing," she told The Associated Press. "I would look at my own poems and think that even their subject that I was tied to, still felt distant to me." 3By April, she had found inspiration to write. What she wrote was far from a traditional poem. Instead, it was a list of what she felt was no longer within her reach. 4Limon ended the poem with a cry, "I am asking you to touch me." She named it "The End of Poetry." 5"I didn't know what it was going to do, but it felt a great relief to list things that I could no longer access," she said. 6Limon's poem is among more than 80 works included in a collection called "Together In a Sudden Strangeness." The anthology will be available as an e-book on June 9 and as a hardcover book in November. 7The anthology's name comes from Chilean poet Pablo Neruda's work "Keeping Quiet." The poem includes the lines "we would all be together/in a sudden strangeness." 8Alice Quinn is a former poetry editor with Alfred A. Knopf publishing house and New Yorker magazine. She collected works for the book. 9"Poets have always been those we turn to as witnesses," she said. "Poets can crystallize a moment like this." 10Book writers will likely take months or years to fully examine the pandemic and its effects and put their thoughts into words. But the art of poetry has an immediacy to it that makes creation possible in the middle of a historical period. 11At least one well-known poet, Julia Guez, is known to have the coronavirus. A poem of hers is included in the collection. It is called "If Indeed I am Ill, Brother." 12"Together in a Sudden Strangeness" also includes works from poets who are also doctors, such as Amit Majmudar's "An American Nurse Foresees her Death." The collection has poems about loneliness and grief, and one on becoming a parent during a time of social distancing. 13The book will includes a work from Major Jackson, a prize-winning poet based in Vermont. Jackson says many poets he knows have had difficulty writing during the pandemic. He says they feel "guilty because of the anxiety they express, as if they are less of a poet." 14Jackson said he and his wife, poet Didi Jackson, told themselves they would write every day once they began sheltering in place. His poem, "Invocation," is a call for better times and for a renewal of old times. 15It reads: 16We want the father in the park running 17behind a child pedaling into her future. 18We want to turn a corner and stumble upon 19the muted concert of two men in an embrace 20with entangled eyes. We want to hear 21a far-away train whistle cast a spell 22on the coming night. 23I'm Ashley Thompson. 24The Associated Press reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 25_______________________________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27pandemic - n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world 28inspiration - n. something that makes someone want to do something or that gives someone an idea about what to do or create 29access - v. to be able to use, enter, or get near (something) 30crystallize - v. to cause (something, such as an idea, belief, etc.) to become clear and fully formed 31grief - n. deep sadness 32anxiety - n. fear or nervousness about what might happen 33pedal - v. to push the pedals of (something, such as a bicycle) 34muted - adj. soft or quiet in sound : quieter than usual 35concert - n. a public performance of music 36spell - n. magic that is performed by saying a group of secret words