L
INDA
P
ASTAN
(1932–): Her collection
PM/AM: New and Selected Poems
was nominated for an American Book Award in 1983. She lives and works in Potomac, Maryland.
J
ÁNOS
P
ILINSZKY
(1921–1981): Influential Hungarian poet whose work deals with religious and metaphysical themes. During World War II he spent time as a soldier and prisoner of war. He was awarded the Kossuth Prize in 1980.
S
YLVIA
P
LATH
(1932–1963): Poet and writer born in Boston. Her most famous works include “Ariel” and the novel
The Bell Jar.
Her work has been widely anthologized and taught in universities.
J
ACQUES
P
RÉVERT
(1900–1977): Popular and influential French poet whose works include
Paroles
(1946) and
Spectacle
(1951).
R
UMI
(1207–1273): Thirteenth-century Persian poet.
W
ILLIAM
S
HAKESPEARE
(1564–1616): Believed by many to be the greatest writer in the English language, he acted, lived, and wrote in London and Stratford.
E
LEANOR
S
TANFORD
(1976–) was a Henry Hoyns Fellow at the University of Virginia, 2003–4. She has an MA in English from the University of Wisconsin and spent two years in the Peace Corps in the Cape Verde Islands. Her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in
Poetry, Ploughshares, Callaloo
, the
Indiana Review
, and other journals.
W
ALLACE
S
TEVENS
(1879–1955): A poet and insurance executive who lived in Hartford, Connecticut, his collections of poetry include
Harmonium
and
Collected Poems.
E
LIZABETH
A
SH
V
ÉLEZ
(1945–): A journalist and writer, Vélez teaches at Georgetown University.
L
ARRY
V
ÉLEZ
(1945–): A writer and poet, he currently lives and works in Washington, D.C.
J
OHN
A. W
ILLIAMS
(1925–): A novelist, essayist, playwright, and poet, Williams was a leading figure of the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and '70s. His works include the novels
The Man Who Cried I Am, Click Song
, and
Clifford's Blues;
the libretto for the opera
Vanqui;
and the poetry collection
Safari West
, for which he won the American Book Award.
W
ILLIAM
C
ARLOS
W
ILLIAMS
(1883–1963): Winner of both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, Williams practiced medicine in Rutherford, New Jersey. His collections include
Selected Poems
and
The Broken Span.
J
AMES
W
RIGHT
(1927–80): Highly regarded American poet who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1966. His work includes
To a Blossoming Pear Tree
and
This Journey.
A
L
Z
OLYNAS
(1945–): Austrian-born poet, naturalized in the United States in 1965, who has taught in universities across the country. His work has been anthologized in several collections. He currently lives in San Diego, California, with his wife.
T
he editors would like to thank their families, colleagues, and friends: in particular, our gifted editor, Amy Einhorn, her assistant, James Schiff, our dream agent, Miriam Altshuler, and her assistant, Sara McGhee, former editor and current friend and reader, Molly Chehak, permissions' dude, Fred Courtwright, inspirational poets Carolyn Creedon and Marie Ponsot, the ever-brilliant and beautiful Ericka Souter, and as always, Andrew Carroll of the American Poetry and Literacy Project.
We'd also like to thank our friends at Georgetown University: Leona Fisher, Dennis Williams, Norma Tilden, Pamela Fox, Maureen Corrigan, David Gewater, Ricardo Ortiz, and Lalitha Gopalan. Thanks also to Sue, John, and Garry Clifford, all the little Cliffords, Shelly Nelson, Barbara Lanphier, Colleen O'Connor, Lisa Ling, Renee Blaloch, Jean Ash, and Politics and Prose Bookstore. Special thanks to all of our friends in Las Vegas, New Mexico: Kak, Wid, Linda, Keith, Jean and Jim, and the staff at the Plaza Hotel.
Mary also extends gratitude to Bob and Kathy Heider, the obstetrics nursing staff at Martha Jefferson Hospital, Betsy Collins and the MJH prenatal exercise gang, magic babysitter Lauren Wencel, the Cville Winter Moms, and the remarkable, life-saving Cathy Quick. She also thanks siblings James Theodore Esselman and Julie Esselman Tomz, for steadfast support. And giddy gratitude to her husband, Greg, who drives her crazy-happy with love and laughter every day.
Elizabeth thanks Larry and reminds him that, so far, we have “by our wills survived to keep the jeweled prize always at our finger tips.”
M
ARY
D. E
SSELMAN
is a teacher and writer. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with her husband and son.
E
LIZABETH
A
SH
V
ÉLEZ
is director of the Community Scholars Program at Georgetown University, where she also teaches women's studies and nonfiction writing.
Margaret Atwood, “Variations on the Word
Sleep
,” from
Selected Poems II: Poems Selected and New 1976–1986
(New York: Houghton Mifflin). Copyright 1987 by Margaret Atwood. Reprinted with the permission of Houghton Mifflin Company and Oxford University Press Canada. All rights reserved.
Bhartrhari, “In Former Days We'd Both Agree,” from
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, translated by John Brough, Penguin Books, 1968.
Kate Bingham, “Because my mother and father…,” and “Sex,” from
Cohabitation.
Copyright 1998 by Kate Bingham. Reprinted with the permission of Seren Books.
Elizabeth Bishop, “It Is Marvellous,” from
The Complete Poems 1926–1979.
Copyright 1965 by Elizabeth Bishop. Copyright 1979, 1983 by Alice Helen Methfessel. Reprinted with the permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, LLC.
Louise Bogan, “Knowledge,” from
The Blue Estuaries: Poems 1923–1968.
Copyright 1977 by Louise Bogan. Reprinted with the permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, LLC.
Carolyn Creedon, “Just a Sestina to You, Honey, Letting You Know What an Interesting Thing Happened to Me While You Were at Home Rubbing Your Wife's Back,” reprinted with permission of the author.
E. E. Cummings, “i carry your heart with me,” from
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Silvia Curbelo, “Garden Party,” from
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Mark Doty, “To the Engraver of My Skin,” from
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Copyright 2001 by Mark Doty. Reprinted with the permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
Gavin Ewart, “Ending,” from
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Copyright 1996 by Louise Glück. “Earthly Love,” from
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Copyright 1999 by Louise Glück. Reprinted with the permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
Donald Hall, “The Hunkering,” from
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Jane Hirshfield, “Three Times My Life Has Opened” and “Broken-Off Twig Budding Out in the Path,” from
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Copyright 1997 by Jane Hirshfield. Reprinted with the permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
Sam Holtzapple, “Terminal,” with permission of the author.
Marie Howe, “Marriag e,” from
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Reprinted with the permission of the author.
Langston Hughes, “When Sue Wears Red,” from
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, edited by Arnold Rampersad and David Roessel. Copyright 1994 by the Estate of Langston Hughes. Reprinted with the permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.
Jane Kenyon, “Biscuit,” from
Otherwise: New and Selected Poems.
Copyright 1996 by Jane Kenyon. Reprinted with the permission of Graywolf Press, St. Paul, Minnesota.
Etheridge Knight, “A Love Poem,” from
Poems from Prison.
Copyright 1968 by Etheridge Knight. Reprinted with the permission of Broadside Press.
Kim Konopka, “I Want.” Reprinted with the permission of the author.
Philip Larkin, “Versde Sociéte” and “Talking in Bed,” from
The Collected Poems
, edited by Anthony Thwaite. Copyright 1988 by the Estate of Philip Larkin. Reprinted with the permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, LLC, and Faber & Faber, Ltd.
James Laughlin, “I Want to Breathe,” from
The Love Poems of James Laughlin.
Copyright 1986 by James Laughlin. Reprinted with the permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation.
Dorianne Laux, “The Shipfitter's Wife,” from
Smoke.
Copyright 2000 by Dorianne Laux. Reprinted with the permission of BOA Editions, Ltd.
Li-Young Lee, “From Blossoms,” from
Rose.
Copyright 1986 by Li-Young Lee. Reprinted with the permission of BOA Editions, Ltd.
Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, “The More You Ruv Someone,” from
Avenue Q
, with permission of the authors.
Katharyn Howd Machan, “Hazel Tells LaVerne.” Reprinted with the permission of the author.
Katherine Mansfield, “Camomile Tea,” from
Poems.
Copyright 1924 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.
Charlotte Matthews, “Lucy,” with permission of the author.
Mark McMorris, “Elegy for Love.” Reprinted with the permission of the author.
Pablo Neruda,
One Hundred Love Sonnets:
XVII, from
The Essential Neruda
, translated by Mark Eisner. Copyright 2004 by Mark Eisner. Reprinted with the permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation. “Girls,” from
The Captain's Verses
, translated by Donald D. Walsh. Copyright 1972 by Pablo Neruda and Donald D. Walsh. Reprinted with the permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation.
Frank O'Hara, “Animals,” from
The Collected Poems of Frank O'Hara.
Copyright 1964 by Frank O'Hara. Reprinted with the permission of City Lights Books.
Sharon Olds, “Sunday Night in the City,” from
Satan Says.
Copyright 1980 by Sharon Olds. Reprinted with the permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press.
Dorothy Parker, “Surprise,” from
The Portable Dorothy Parker
, Introduction by Brenden Gill. Copyright 1928 and renewed 1956 by Dorothy Parker. Reprinted with the permission of Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Putnam, Inc.
Linda Pastan, “An Early Afterlife,” from
An Early Afterlife.
Copyright 1995 by Linda Pastan. Reprinted with the permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
János Pilinszky, “Relationship,” translated from the Hungarian by Peter Jay, from the collection
Crater
, tr. Peter Jay, Anvil Press Poetry, 1978.
Sylvia Plath, “The Rival,” from
The Collected Poems
, edited by Ted Hughes. Copyright 1981 by Ted Hughes. Reprinted with the permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., and Faber & Faber, Ltd.
Jacques Prévert, “Alicante,” translated by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, from
Selections from Paroles.
Copyright 1958 by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Reprinted with the permission of City Lights Books.
Rumi, “Last Night You Left Me and Slept,” from
Like This
, translated by Coleman Barks (Athens, Georgia: Maypop Books, 1990). Copyright 1990 by Coleman Barks. Reprinted with the permission of the translator.
Eleanor Stanford, “On a Line by Petrarch,” with permission of the author.
Wallace Stevens, “Life Is Motion,” from
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Copyright 1923, 1951, 1954 by Wallace Stevens. Reprinted with the permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.
Elizabeth Ash Vélez, “Apex Plumbing” and “Cardinal Points.” Reprinted with the permission of the author.
Larry Vélez, “Appetizers.” Reprinted with the permission of the author.
John A. Williams, “Kids,” from
Safari West
(Montreal: Hochelaga Press, 1998). Copyright 1998 by John A. Williams. Reprinted with the permission of the author.
William Carlos Williams, “Nantucket” and “This Is Just to Say,” from
The Collected Poems of William Carlos Williams, Volume I, 1909–1939
, edited by Christopher MacGowan. Copyright 1938 by New Directions Publishing Corporation. “The Ivy Crown,” from
The Collected Poems of William Carlos Williams, Volume II, 1939 – 1962
, edited by Christopher MacGowan. Copyright 1953 by New Directions Publishing Corporation. All reprinted with the permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation.
James Wright, “The Journey” and “Mary Bly,” from
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Copyright 1957 by James Wright. Reprinted with the permission of Wesleyan University Press.
Al Zolynas, “The Zen of Housework,” from
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Copyright 1979 by Al Zolynas. Reprinted with the permission of Wesleyan University Press.