We couldn't invite Edna St. Vincent Millay ("To what purpose, April, do you return again?...) or John Greenleaf Whittier ("The birds against the April wind / Flew northward...") or even Irving Berlin ("Tho' April showers may come your way / They bring the flowers that bloom in May..."). But April is
National Poetry Month as proclaimed by the Academy of American Poets, and a good time to open the chapbooks and the anthologies and enjoy all manner of poetry.
Over the past few years OFF THE PAGE has welcomed many fine poets and this special program brings back some of the best moments from those broadcasts.
Included in this hour are
Carol Frost and
Richard Frost, husband and wife poets who live in Otsego County. Carol's most recent book is "
The Queen's Desertion". Their work provides a contrast between lyric and narrative poetry and they discuss with
Bill Jaker how their shared life with similar sensibilities and differing styles thrives under one roof.
Also
Michelle Courtney Berry,
Katharyn Howd Machan,
Edward Dougherty,
Bruce Bennett, and a round-table appearance by
Jay Leeming of Ithaca and
Liz Rosenberg of Binghamton, who is also a noted author of children's books. Jay Leeming's "Man Writes Poem" was presented by Garrison Keillor on "The Writer's Almanac on April 24, 2006 (read and listen
here).
