Poetry is eternal graffiti in the heart of everyone.
A poem is a mirror walking down a strange street full of visual delight.
Poetry is the shook foil of the imagination; it should shine out and half blind you.
It is the sun streaming down in the meshes of the morning.
It is white nights and mouths of desire.
It is a tree with live leaves made from log piles of words.
A poem should arise to ecstasy somewhere between speech and song.

~ Excerpt of Americus, Book I by Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

Brussels, July 2006

This post was inspired by Christine who recently had a poem and picture that I really enjoyed. I found this Ferlinghetti poem plus a wonderful interview of the poet in the latest edition of Poets & Writers Magazine.

I feel like I haven’t started reading a new book in a long time but tonight I’m starting Consequences of Sin. I am in the mood for some lighter fare and this one seems to fit the bill, plus it’s due back at the library this weekend.

Even though I’m excited to start this book and have countless others calling my name, I can’t help but get excited over a few other books I noted in the latest BookPage issue. Here are the ones I’m adding to my wishlist:

• Angelica by Arthur Phillips. Set in Victorian England, Phillips’s impressive third novel uses four linked viewpoints to explore class, gender, family dynamics, sexuality and sciences both real and fraudulent, ancient and newly minted. Plus, there is a character that is described as part spiritualist, part psychologist. I like the sound of this one.
• Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño. Described as a kaleidoscopic narrative about a group of young literary desperados who all but stake their lives on the imperative of poetry. How can I resist this one?
• The Book of Air and Shadows by Michael Gruber. A comic thriller about a quest for an un-known, unpublished and hidden play by William Shakespeare. This sounds kind of fun.
• The Color of a Dog Running Away by Richard Gwyn. A love story, a tale of adventure, a historical thriller, and an evocative tour of Barcelona. I love Barcelona so I’d love to revisit it even if it’s only via a novel.

What books are you looking forward to this Spring? C’mon, tell me, you know I want to add more to my list.