Read: The Great Fires

I don’t know ANYTHING about poetry. Nothing. Nada. However, at times it FEELS like maybe I write poetry. Not here on the website, only in my daily notebook. I never looked at it as poetry, just a stream on nonsense really, but the idea got me thinking, and also got me to buy this book. And I’m glad I did. The Great Fires is a book by poet Jack Gilbert. Okay, in a nutshell, Gilbert found success with his first book, became somewhat of a star then promptly spent the bulk of his life in isolation. I can’t think of anything better, other than skipping the “became a star” part. There were varied opinions as to why he did this, but anyone who takes one good look at our modern culture shouldn’t have to stretch to determine why someone would do this.(Especially now.)

What I love about Gilbert’s poetry, and all poetry for that matter, is that there is no dilution rate. This isn’t 1:150 writing. This is 1:1. Pure. Raw, concise observations that paint a mental picture for you to fill in the details. There is so much emotion in this work. Get it, read it.