what we lost

Our losses in 2016 were profound. LitHub helps us recall Notable Literary Deaths in 2016.

best-of, part 3

The lists are multiplying. Here’s another round.

• Amazon lists their Best Sellers in Poetry (updated hourly)
• BuzzFeed lists The 11 Best Poetry Books Of 2016
• goodreads offers their Choice Awards for poetry
• London Review Bookshop’s Christmas Poetry Picks 2016 riffs on the popular BBC mystery series “Endeavor” to present their poetry prizes for the year
• The New Yorker’s Dan Chiasson offers his list of the best books of poetry in 2016
• The Spinoff (New Zealand) recommends five books of poetry
• The Telegraph lists The 15 best poetry books of all time
• The Walrus provides plenty of poetry among The Best Books of 2016 selected by Canadian authors

Support your local independent bookseller and read lots of poetry over the holidays.

best-of, part 2

As promised, here’s another installation of Best-of lists:

• Chicago Tribune selects the Best poetry books of 2016
• Entropy lists the Best of 2016: Best Poetry Books & Collections
• Financial Times provides the Best Books of 2016: Poetry
• The Guardian shares Kate Kellaway’s best poetry books of 2016
• Minnesota Public Radio offers up Best poetry collections of 2016: Poets’ picks
• NPR’s Book Concierge includes Poetry & Short Stories on their Guide To 2016’s Great Reads
• Publishers Weekly has five poetry titles among their best 20 books of 2016

Happy list-making!

it has begun…

Whatever holiday you choose to celebrate, or even if you ignore the holidays all together, one benefit of the year’s end is that publications offer up their “best-of” literary lists. It has begun, and we’ve created a best-of banner to accompany our listings of lists as they appear here. So, without further delay, let the season begin:

• The Washington Post lists the best poetry collections of 2016.
• The New York Times lists the hundred best books of the year, including five poetry titles.
• The New York Times has also posted its notable children’s books list. While not listed as poetry, many are, in fact, written in verse.
• The Times Literary Supplement offers recommendations of a title or two by select authors, including some poets.

Wrong a lot*

2016 Walk Award
By Timothy Pilgrim

Lake’s plenty deep, dive off the cliff.
She’s crazy about me. Those jeans
will fit. I’ll be there for her

if the going gets tough. No chance
it will rain, I know when to shut up.
I don’t need directions,

they adore me at work. I’ve studied
enough, no doubt I’ll be rich.
We have plenty of gas,

she doesn’t like gifts. Our love
will survive. We don’t need cash,
I’m sober, can drive. It’s just fine

to speed. I will never get caught.
I know she’ll call, she wouldn’t leave.
I won’t miss her at all.

. . . . .
*Copyright 2016 by Timothy Pilgrim. Broadside illustrated by Mat Hudson.

Willow Trees*

2016 Walk Award
By Winter Gariss (11th grade)

Wandering willows weep and wallow with wonder,
Idealistic breeze indigenous to the infamous trees.
Nature nurtures their nostalgic leaves while new
Trees become tied together throughout
Endless roots entangled under ebony earthen soil
Rounded rough bark reaches up and royal
Green leaves gallantly gleaming in the
Atmosphere. Almost aligned with the
Round radiant stars romantic in the night.
Icy and incapacitating beauty of
Snow softly slipping sideways in to the willow’s arms
So soundly sleeping, the world will stay.

. . . . .
*Copyright 2016 by Winter Gariss. Broadside illustrated by Kim Wulfestieg.

The Spelling Bee*

2016 Walk Award
By Marlene Chasson

I walk down the hall to her room.
She is in her chair, eyes closed, hands folded,
her afghan across her knees.
But she is not really there.
She is back in her sixth grade classroom
standing in front of the blackboard
waiting for her teacher to pronounce the next word.
She spells c-a-t-e-g-o-r-i-c-a-l-l-y correctly
and is almost back to her seat
when I say, “Hello there, how are you today?”
She slowly opens her eyes, remembers where she is
And tries not to show her disappointment
when she sees me standing there
with a vase of flowers in my hand.

. . . . .
*Copyright 2016 by Marlene Chasson. Broadside illustrated by Kim Wulfestieg.

Seattle, get ready

Lit Crawl Seattle is on its way. Mark your calendar for Thursday, October 27, 2016, 6:00pm on, and take part in some uncommon literary events — readings, performances, panel discussions, and much more — that take place in pubs, museums, cafes, libraries, and a host of other spaces throughout the Capitol Hill and First Hill neighborhoods in Seattle. Most of the events are free.

Watch for the full schedule on the Lit Crawl Seattle website, and meanwhile, check out the individual events on the Lit Crawl Seattle Facebook page. With more than 35 literary events, you’re sure to find a few words to inspire you.

The Following Monday*

2016 Merit Award
By Roger William Gilman

The Following Monday: a Grief Observed
For my mother, dead on Wednesday, buried on Saturday

I stop walking      and look down.

Beneath my boots
the black leaves and red needles
having lain long
in the ruts of the logging road
create a chicory tea
from a stream of sunlight
flowing through the late hemlocks and maples
in this small ditch
filling with seeping water,
steeping a puddle of feeling without meaning
beneath a broken gray and gilded sky,
a tea for one not newly come to love, one
whose memory does not easily fall away.

I stop dreaming      and look up
interrupted by a wedge of geese
flying back the other way — home.

. . . . .
*Copyright 2016 by Roger William Gilman. Broadside illustrated by Kim Wulfestieg.

29 February*

2016 Walk Award
By Tallie Jones

March first there were always daffodils on your table
Golden beacons on the lace cloth,
forthright, purposeful, and sure,
even when you could no longer drive to buy them.
In honor of St. David’s Day, you said,
Patron Saint of Wales
Okay, said I. We left it at that.

Today, clearing space around the bulbs and the lupine,
kids circling, phone delivering sharp voices,
I invoked your cardinal rules —
Pretty is as pretty does!
There are no ugly people, only ugly behaviors!
We don’t hate in this house!
Love is needed most when it’s hardest to love —
strong and sure, strangely confident, for me.

Later, lying quiet and unguarded in the dark,
I could feel you near my raw heart,
your memory and your lessons close.
In the morning I set daffodils on the table,
hugged the teapot in your honor and looked up St. David
Known as a great teacher and for his last words:
Gwnewch y pethau bychain
“Do the little things.”

. . . . .
**Copyright 2016 by Tallie Jones. Broadside illustration by Megan Carroll.