I’ve had a copy of the 25th issue of Rattle, a poetry literary journal, hanging out in my house for several months and finally picked it up to leaf through. This particular issue has a tribute to the best of Rattle as well as an interview with a poet I recently heard read at AWP in Denver. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I continue to wonder why I haven’t read certain poets before. Mark Jarman is one of those poets. In the interviewregarding style and subject, Jarman says:
I might, at this point, be said to have a subject. I think of it as the intersection of, say, the word of God with the Godless world–what happens when you see and experience in your own life this moment when God seems to be at work. That’s what I usually write about.
When I read things like this from other poets, my heart does this little flutter of excitement. It is a thrill to me to know that there are other poets writing out of this same ambition. I feel as if there is indeed a community of believers (or community of seekers, even) who find this intersection fascinating and critical, who do not believe that we are “past the age of myths”, beyond a belief in God.
I purchased Unholy Sonnets in AWP this year and read the whole thing on the plane ride home. It’s a lovely collection, one I couldn’t put down. I think this is because I couldn’t wait to hear what he would say next. The subject-matter thrills me. I hope to be able to meet or work with Jarman sometime in the future–perhaps at the West Chester Poetry Conference 🙂
Sarah Marie Wells 