Diane di Prima's new book, The Poetry Deal, is, somewhat improbably, her very best. I'm a long time fan of her poetry - until this volume Revolutionary Letters, was my favorite - and I am simply ecstatic at how truly great this collection is.
Here are two of her briefer poems, ON THE TRAIN and TO A STUDENT, from The Poetry Deal:
ON THE TRAIN
1.
green shack in Richmond
"Merlin's" printed on the door
just that
2.
"Halfway to Baghdad"
says the headline. The graffiti
reads "Whitey repent"
TO A STUDENT
POEMS are angels
come to bring you
the letter you wdn't
sign for
earlier, when it was
delivered
by your life
Want to buy this and support one of the great small press publishers of all time? Buy it directly from City Lights, at a 30% discount - cheaper than that big virtual box store.
Or a favorite independent bookshop near you.
You'll love it.
in my ramshackle hut
she holds her head high...
the peony
Issa
trans. by David G. Lanoue
best,
Don
PS Click to learn how to contribute to Wednesday Haiku
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