Salmon by Kim Addonizio

Salmon by Kim Addonizio

In this shallow creek
they flop and writhe forward as the dead
float back toward them. Oh, I know
what I should say: fierce burning in the body
as her eggs burst free, milky cloud
of sperm as he quickens them. I should stand
on the bridge with my camera,
frame the white froth of rapids where one
arcs up for an instant in its final grace.
But I have to go down among
the rocks the glacier left
and squat at the edge of the water
where a stinking pile of them lies,
where one crow balances and sinks
its beak into a gelid eye.
I have to study the small holes
gouged into their skin, their useless gills,
their gowns of black flies. I can't
make them sing. I want to,
but all they do is open
their mouths a little wider
so the water pours in
until I feel like I'm drowning.
On the bridge the tour bus waits
and someone waves, and calls down
It's time, and the current keeps lifting
dirt from the bottom to cover the eggs.

From Tell Me by Kim Addonizio. Copyright © 2000 by Kim Addonizio. Reprinted by permission of BOA Editions, Ltd. All rights reserved. From http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16212 accessed 5/29/08


Despite what you may hear in the speaker's tone of voice, this is a poem of hopeful expectation. "Blessed are those who have not seen but believe." I have a copy of Tell Me but I don't remember this poem as being in there. I'm glad to see this at www.poets.org. To give you an idea what a poetry geek I am, I mailed my copy of Tell Me to Ms. Addonizio in California from my home in Saginaw (Michigan, where I was living at the time) to ask her to sign it. That was several years ago already. She signed the title page “For Andy who knows how to pass it on. With thanks and good wishes, Kim”' and on the next page she signed her full name. Then she sent it back to me in the self-addressed, postage-paid envelope I included. Yay autographs!

The Poet's Companion

Recommended reading:

From Kim Addonizio's website:

Kim Addonozio and Dorianne Laux
The Poet's Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry

Thoughtful, generous, and accurate to both deeper truths and the craftwork it takes to hold them, The Poet's Companion is a superb guide for the working poet. —Jane Hirshfield

This feels like the book we've been waiting for: rigorous, generous, in love with the art of poetry, aware of the inner architecture of poems-and maybe it couldn't have been written by anyone but Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux, two passionate poets. —Marie Howe

Poets Addonizio and Laux warn against cliche, and although textbooks on writing come a dime a dozen these days, theirs is head and shoulders above the rest. There are three main sections: "Subjects for Writing" (e.g. death, the erotic), "The Poet's Craft" (metaphor, rhyme), and "The Writing Life" (self-doubt, writer's block); four separate appendixes list other writing texts, anthologies, marketing tips, and electronic resources. The many exercises offered emerge largely from the intensive one-day workshops conducted by Addonizio and Laux. Both knowledgeable and practical in their approach, the authors offer everything a poet needs, including one feature more necessary than ever in the postliterate age yet absent from other writing texts: a gentle yet insistent lesson on grammar. Highly recommended for all libraries. —David Kirby, Library Journal
Quotes from http://www.kimaddonizio.com/ accessed 3/7/08.

From the publisher:

Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux
The Poet's Companion A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry

From the nuts and bolts of craft to the sources of inspiration, this book is for anyone who wants to write poetry-and do it well. In this fortuitous collaboration, two spirited poets, themselves teachers of poetry, offer guidance to aspiring beginners and those who have already published. Brief essays on the elements of poetry, technique, and suggested subjects for writing are each followed by distinctive writing exercises. ("Compare an actual family photograph with one that was never taken, but might have been.") The ups and downs of the writing life—including the inevitable visitations of self-doubt and writer's block—are here, along with tips about getting published. A special section contains twenty-minute writing exercises, and valuable appendixes cover further reading and marketing advice. On your own, this book can be your "teacher," while groups, in or out of the classroom, can profit from sharing weekly assignments. Numerous examples of contemporary poetry, chosen for relevance and freshness, illustrate salient points and stimulate the imagination. By calling on their own experience and focusing on living American writers for their models, the authors introduce you to poetry as it is right now.

Kim Addonizio lives in San Francisco; Dorianne Laux lives in Eugene, Oregon. Her first collection, The Philosopher's Club, was selected by Dana Gioia as one of the ten best books of 1994 for the Washington Post. Dorianne Laux's What We Carry (1994) was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Both poets are the recipients of NEA grants.

1997 / paperback original / ISBN 0-393-31654-8 / 6" x 8" / 224 pages / Reference/Writing, Poetry
Description taken from http://www.wwnorton.com/catalog/fall97/poetcomp.htm accessed 3/7/08.

Phyllis, who joined our group the other day to read poems by Richard Wilbur, has used this book with her students at Saginaw Valley State University. She told me so herself when she gave a copy of the book to me as a gift. Yes! The enthusiasm Addonizio and Laux have for the craft of poetry is contagious in the pages of this book. Catch that enthusiasm and the world will never be the same again. You have my word on it.




-- "It is our goal to appreciate and improve our talents, to share our own work and to communicate the joys of poetry with others. Everyone's poetry is valued."
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