Second Nature: Poems

by Witte, John, JR

• ISBN13: 9780295988597
• ISBN10: 0295988592
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-09-01
• Publisher: Univ of Washington Pr

Summary

I'll write itbut in my measure not your clottedhexed pentameters but these quick whiplash triplets the firstline breathlessthen a rustle of wings spilling outa long tumbling exhalation probing the margin of possibility-from "Ovid 101"John Witte's poetry sweeps the reader immediately into its crosscurrents, its passionate engagement and its ambivalence. Composed of staggered tercets, the poems inSecond Naturetrack the chaotic rush and swerve of life as we live it. Wide open to the world, Witte writes with uncommon energy and urgency and his vision is exhilarating.Second Natureteems with expertly realized lyrics, monologues, and narratives, as well as poems based on historical figures from Ovid to Janis Joplin. The metaphors for human endurance, and the transformative power of art and community, are accurate and rich. Alert to the dangers of love and loss, Witte finds his poems where sorrow and transcendence converge. Like birds singing their "desperate psalm" in a clear-cut, his poems bring us a rare kind of hope.John Witte's poems have appeared inThe New Yorker, The Paris Review, American Poetry Review, and, among numerous anthologies,The Norton Introduction to Literature. The recipient of two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, he lives with his family in Eugene, Oregon, where he teaches at the University of Oregon and editsNorthwest Review.Second Natureis his third book of poetry.

Table of Contents

Roots	p. 1
Falling Blossoms	p. 3
His Cap	p. 4
That	p. 5
From	p. 6
The Sound Barrier	p. 7
Sartre's Eye	p. 8
His Dreams	p. 9
Swath	p. 10
Tick	p. 11
The Pledge	p. 12
Helicopter Ride	p. 13
Interrogation	p. 14
Obit	p. 15
Begats	p. 17
Newborn	p. 19
The Seed	p. 20
Iris Innominata	p. 21
Naming	p. 22
Likeness	p. 23
Grace	p. 24
Palenque	p. 25
Daycare	p. 26
Fugue for Josie	p. 27
Anna's Horses	p. 28
The Heavenly Ladder	p. 29
Ark	p. 30
Auto Zoo	p. 31
Clearcut	p. 32
Captivity	p. 33
The Ocean	p. 34
Why	p. 35
Snail	p. 36
Impersonations	p. 37
Ovid 101	p. 39
Lorenzo Lotto	p. 40
Durer's Pillow	p. 41
Joseph of Copertino	p. 42
John Chapman	p. 43
Louis Braille	p. 44
Diary of Agnes Stewart	p. 45
Frontier Clockmaker	p. 46
Joseph Mason	p. 47
Bailey at Sea	p. 48
Oz	p. 49
Heinrich Muller	p. 50
Janis Joplin	p. 51
Apparition	p. 52
Birdman	p. 53
Five I Weeds	p. 65
The Heart	p. 67
Reconciliation	p. 68
Shoo	p. 69
Billiards After the Service	p. 70
Truck	p. 71
This Being	p. 72
Ten Reasons to Dread the
Wind	p. 73
Restoration	p. 74
Whim	p. 75
The Gift	p. 76
Nearly Asleep I Remember	p. 77
Switchyard	p. 78
Parachute	p. 79
Home	p. 80
It Wasn't That	p. 81
Acknowledgments	p. 83
About the Poet	p. 85
A Note on the Type	p. 86
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