Heaven from Steam, by Carol Light

Able Muse Press

"Iambics march from short to long;--
With a leap and a bound the swift Anapaests throng."~Samuel Taylor Coleridge

"A poet's mind ...is constantly amalgamating disparate experience; the ordinary man's experience is chaotic, irregular, fragmentary. The latter falls in love, or reads Spinoza, and these two experiences have nothing to do with each other, or with the noise of the typewriter or the smell of cooking; in the mind of the poet these experiences are always forming new wholes."~T.S. Eliot

"The poet makes silk dresses out of worms."~Wallace Stevens

Hello Book Mavens,

We are thrilled at the prospect of having a living poet in our midst, and in the bargain, to reconnect with a family member whom we haven't seen in quite some time. For her part, Carol is excited as well to be coming to the Piney Woods of East Texas to share her poetry with fellow lovers of literature and with family. Heaven From Steam has attracted the notice of more than a few luminaries from the world of poetry, and I have to say, from the first of what will surely be many readings of the book, the praise is well deserved.

We believe that the reading/signing that Carol has generously agreed to do is a unique event for Longview. I can't recall another reading by a working poet in all the years I've lived here. As a club, I think congratulations are in order for bringing something new and exciting to the cultural landscape of the city and the region.

Thanks to all for your cooperation in moving our regularly scheduled meeting to accommodate the poet's schedule. I think after the reading on Friday evening, and the brunch with a very talented author at the Taylor's on Saturday, it will all have been worth it. Trudy has advised us that in accordance with their Home Owners Association's rules, the parking that will be available to us will be the Taylor's driveway, the street in front of their home, and the street in front of empty lots. This should easily accommodate four to six vehicles.

Below are a few more or less formal discussion questions, but I trust that each of you will have much to discuss and ask about during this time when we'll be fortunate enough to have the author all to ourselves. I can't think of a better way to celebrate and enjoy National Poetry Month.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Poetry Readings by Carol Light

The audio is Carol Light reading her poem, Odalisquie, Titian's Bacchanal, which was recorded during a reading at the Fredonia House Book Club event, Friday, April 25, 2014;  the accompanying music is a Mozart overture, Ascanio in Alba, K.111.

The Bacchanal of the Andrians is an oil painting by Titian. Tiziano Vecellio, known as Titian in English, was born in the small alpine village of Pieve di Cadore, which is located near the Austrian border.  The painting is dated to 1523–1526, and is now held at the Museo del Prado in Madrid, but it was commissioned by Alfonso I d'Este for his Camerini d'alabastro in Ferrara.


This video was taken during a reading at the Bushwick Book club event, November 30, 2012.