Scott sent me an email telling me his newest book is out.
I am intrigued and must read this book. Maybe I will then pass it on to a child, but because I think Scott is one of the best poets of today, I look forward to reading this book. Take a peek at the cover
here.
But I spent much time tonight going back to Musings and reading his words about poetry.
Scott says the art of poetry
“is what won’t sit still inside your head
what wakes you up at night
what calls memory back from darkness
what gives words the shape they take
what makes you wonder how much more you could do
and just why you haven’t been doing it.”
Scott Owens will be the featured guest for Mountain Wordsmiths July 28, at 10:30 AM on Zoom. We will enjoy his time with us and hope you will join us. Contact me or
Carroll Taylor for a link.
I wish we felt safe to have him here in person, but COVID is back in all its vengeance in Clay County NC.
I was told back in January when I got COVID in spite of wearing a mask all the time, "You need a better mask." I agree. I try to wear a much better mask now, but at this time, I am not going out to indoor meetings. I can't afford to take the risk.
But you can enjoy Scott Owen's books now. I enjoyed this one so much:
He wrote a poem about teaching during a pandemic. He observes how quiet people are, hardly talking as if that will keep the virus from spreading.
To me, this book is about life, how we live, how we want to die, how to survive during a pandemic, what is really important in life, who are our heroes, and what he notices in his daily life. It is also about Hope.
Only One
My wife won't let me speak
of being old, but I don't mind age
or dying. In all my favorite movies
the good guys always die, heroically,
of course, fighting to the very end,
seizing every moment, making
whatever has come before, worthwhile.
Like them, I think that must be
what matters most. And like them I think
if I'm busy enough, distracted by what
I am doing, doing for what I believe in,
for living, then it will be worthwhile
to the very end, and the end itself
might pass without me noticing at all.
Thanks, Scott. I feel the same about this living and dying business. Having watched loved ones die, I am not afraid of dying, just the process that can take a long time. I am a member of Compassion and Choices which I hope will help me go without "noticing at all."