Jack Elliot Myers
November 29, 1941 – November 23, 2009
Trying to capture a life and a spirit on a page is daunting, especially when that life belonged to a friend, mentor, and poet of incisive humorand stunning sensitivity. It was our hope that the many voices in this issue of Jack’s friends, colleagues, former students, and fellow seekers would help those who never knew him to understand how deeply we have been touched by his passing. To learn about Jack’s life and his extensive contributions to the literary world, please go to www.thewritersgarret.org.
Our Winter 2010 Issue features poetry by Harriet Sohmers Zwerling, Carol Westberg, Leslie Ullman, Daniel Nathan Terry, Bruce Spang, Christopher Soden, Betsy Sholl, Christopher Russell, Suzanne Rhodenbaugh, Naomi Shihab Nye, B.Z. Niditch, Ariana Nash, Jack Myers, Daryl Morazzini, Jim McGarrah, Michael Macklin, Sandee Lyles, Joanne Lowery, Sydney Lea, Richard Jackson, Norbert Hirschhorn, Alexander Etheridge, Patrick Dillon, Brad Davis, Mark Cox, Paul Christensen, W.E. Butts, Andrea Blancas, Robin Behn, Ralph Angel and Marian Aitches. With artwork by Stephen Koharian and Jessica Goldfinch. Reviews by Michael Macklin and Meghan Cadwallader.
Poems
Appetizers—for Jack Myers, 1988
by Mark Cox What I’d pay to see, the man says, is a bull elephant fighting a rhinoceros, and reaching for the smothered nachos, adds, now that
Stars—for Jack Myers, 1984
by Mark Cox Last night, like a match tossed off onto the lawn, it bloomed and disappeared. I kept smoking. And my dog kept nosing the damp
Meeting Robert Lowell
by B.Z. Niditch Into your creaking office with ivy toned wisdom carrying Catullus but fearing thirst and hell you were defenseless in a wizened
Cesar Vallejo’s Night, 1892 – 1938
by B.Z. Niditch Night travels the field among a hundred days, your bed enters darkness on a bridge of departure from a poor man working dreams
The Allotments
by Patrick Dillon I see they’ve put a new McSorley in the ground along with all the McBrides and Hanrahans the Smiths and Smythes, as though in
Rosy
by Patrick Dillon Once upon a time when yellow hens laid purple eggs, not long before she touched the car and went off into the photograph. high
Song of the Slave Poets
by Patrick Dillon We go blind at the deskpit Fussing out our commas Feeling for something like a teapot That will contain everything. Life is
Chandelier
by Joanne Lowery For lack of a better name, let us call this darkness “Klimt.” True, squares of white and gold tile his paintings, naked fish
Plath to Her Scholars
by Joanne Lowery Girls, aren’t you the ones who under the guise of “get a life” subsist in universities with towers of my books piled on your
Two Rivers
by Robin Behn A tune by Larry Unger — for Jack Myers Two minds, side by side. Your two minds walking a road, a road that plunges
Palimpsest—for Jack
by Michael Macklin Now freshly painted walls tremble in the hard light of November with secrets a carpenter scratched in framing pencil — No moon
he can’t be gone can he—for jack
by Christopher Soden word came days after at a poetry workshop consistent with the nature of our connection he was a friend rabbi father shaman
Passages—in memory of Jack Myers
by Marian Aitches 1 One by one, birds fly through the wide hall — shadows on fire – lit walls brighter than the
On Time
by Bruce Spang Do you hear the soft ohhs in the mist? These are sighs of God. They do not matter to the man — late, no doubt — who taps at his
Two comments on craft taken from his letters to Bruce Spang
Jack Myers — two comments on craft taken from his letters to Bruce Spang I. Form In my own writing, I strive to have all the
Misogi
by Daryl Morazzini While the world sleeps, I bath under cold flowing waters, hands clasped in prayer. The ancestral spirits
Able to Say It—missing Jack Myers
by Naomi Shihab Nye So, the years go by and we find a few doors and windows. Some are always open, some were never open. Because we are crazy and
Changes
by Harriet Sohmers Zwerling Now that I cannot do it alone, my tall son leads me into the chilly waters of the bay where I float above the jagged
I Am Absent, But Deep In This Absence—after a line by Juana de Ibarbourou
by Leslie Ullman a prickling like tiny, almost downy cactus thorns that work their way through leather gloves sometimes settles at the
Precarious
by Leslie Ullman Balance in moving parts: the rider spurring her horse on a straightaway before she remembers to reach down and tighten the girth
This Scar—After a line by Fernando Lisboa
by Leslie Ullman Lord, forgive me if I don’t look for you beneath vaulted ceilings built by canonical money and generations of peasants sweating
Gone Fishing—for Jack Myers
by Andrea Blancas Beltran You never told me You were leaving When I asked. You just propped up Your fishing pole
A Song for Jack—for Jack Myers
by Andrea Blancas Beltran I knew a bird could sing but I never knew a bird had a song until you. The ease of your laugh, the way you
The Drift
by Sandee Lyles We drift along and fail to notice What floats by much of the time Up and down, up and down We bob and grab for big stuff Likely
Eight Ball—for Jack Myers
by W.E. Butts There’s a Buddha on my desk, and he’s laughing. We of the West believe if you rub the Buddha’s belly, good fortune is certain. But
Sunrise on the Ohio River
by Jim McGarrah November 23, 2009 — for Jack Myers, teacher and friend In front of me silt and driftwood clip along driven by the current
After the storm,—for Jack Myers
by Daniel Nathan Terry graveyard flowers litter Shipyard Boulevard — petals of plastic and silk, stems of stiff wire. As we pass over the wind’s
Directions
by Norbert Hirschhorn My ancestors came from Africa, once, footprints preserved in volcanic dust, families walking side –by – side,
The Guineas of Gardiner Creek
by Brad Davis There’s this old Manor, decrepit, ticky, patrolled by dappled tick – eaters clawking endlessly their grey, clown–
The Ethical Problem of Existence
by Richard Jackson What I thought was an ethical problem of existence was only just a broken heart.
Dear Jack
by Christopher Russell Hi Jack, is what I want to say. But at this moment there’s this little voice loving its perch, screwed into a reflection
The Teenaged Poem—in memory of Jack Myers
by Suzanne Rhodenbaugh The soul of Nietzsche, the scruples of Alfred E. Neuman. After stanza one it yawns, picks its nose and farts. It takes a
Blue Notes—Jack Myers, In Memoriam
by Sydney Lea Our good friend Mark forwarded your lovely “Cirrus” soon after you died. I’d have wept at it even if
Mentor, we’re talking
by Alexander Etheridge Sudden winter, unfashionably cold rain — You may know this, changed now into everywhere by the shadow’s knick. And word
Entwined
by Carol Westberg It can never be satisfied, the mind, never. — Wallace Stevens Anxiety
Next Time
by Carol Westberg An eagle, the boy said, or a loon. Next time I might be moss or stone or a stream carrying on.
Moon
by Betsy Sholl It all comes down to one day glowing, one day gone, one day haloed mother, one day the hag, scythe in hand. So, what throw of the
Hit & Run
by Betsy Sholl It wasn’t a Mac truck wanting me dead, just a blue car, young woman on the phone. Good, Biene — Biene — the license plate read. At
Adagio For Strings
by Betsy Sholl The radio’s weeping again, this time without commentary, so it could be for anything, these strings brought to the breaking — for
With Jack Myers in France
by Paul Christensen You were my guest in southern France once, with Thea fussing with car rentals on the phone, my wife fixing breakfast at the
Jacob William
by Paul Christensen I was upstairs in Jack’s house on the flat suburban prairies north of Dallas, tossing among the words and muses of his little
Jack The Believer
by Paul Christensen When Jack said getting his first real job (SMU in Dallas) saved his life, he was like an trapeze artist in the Cirque de
Small Monuments to Fear—for Jack Myers
by Ariana Nash I have made a sister of a stone statue, who willows her head into her lap, bending over ferns. She wakes me up in the morning to
Untitled
by Ralph Angel Were you guilty of something your story would wear a black suit and come to an end. I leave you alone. I mop up the afterlife and
Cirrus
by Jack Myers I’d like to leave a lighter imprint on the world than I’d formerly meant. Just a scent, not the thud of the thing steaming on a
Remains
by Jack Myers What’ll I do with my body when I’m dead? The best times I ever had were spent sailing in place so I vote for being buried. But I’ve
Paradise
by Jack Myers In a program called Survivor Man, the host, after drifting five days at sea, washes up in paradise: there’s your coral reef, the
Cloud, Backlit
by Jack Myers 6 a.m. March. Snow flurries. I’m stepping into the Atlantic, gulping fast, get –ready breaths so I can swim furiously, numb
Life on Earth
by Jack Myers During my life on earth, I loved being showered by the sun’s colored protons while seagulls screamed and days dredged back and
Reviews
Rain Inside
by Ibrahim Nasrallah, translated by Omnia Amin and Rick London, Willimantic, CT, Curbstone Press, 2009, 120 pages, paper, $14.95, ISBN: 978 -1-
Elegy for the Floater
by Teresa Carson, CavanKerry Press, 2008, 84 pages, paper, $16, ISBN -10: 978 -1- 033880 – 07- 05 Buy the Book Suicide is never easily
The Great Hunger
by Karen Douglass, Plain View Press, 2009, 81 pages, paper, $13.46, ISBN -10: 0 – 9818731- 6 – 6 Buy the Book In her preface to her
Poet Biographies
Harriet Sohmers Zwerling
is an eighty year old woman, fifties expatriate, writer, translator, teacher, and mother of the funk musician, MiloZ. Her collection of stories,
Carol Westberg
her first collection of poems, Slipstream, will be published in 2010. A former teacher and editor, she currently directs communications at
Leslie Ullman
her latest book, Slow Work Through Sand, winner of the 1997 Iowa Poetry Prize, came out in 1998. Her first collection of poems, Natural
Daniel Nathan Terry
is a former landscaper and horticulturist. His debut full–length poetry collection, Capturing the Dead, won the Stevens Poetry Prize and
Bruce Spang
is a teacher and writer. He has published two chapbooks and two books of poems, the latest from Moon Pie Press. He is an avid and somewhat
Christopher Soden
is a native Texan, writer, teacher, critic, lecturer, and performer, who received his MFA in Writing (Poetry) from Vermont College. He currently
Betsy Sholl
is the current Poet Laureate of Maine. She has published seven books of poetry, most recently Rough Cradle (Alice James, 2009) and Late Psalm
Christopher Russell
was born in Concord, New Hampshire in 1974. He currently lives in Concord, New Hampshire, where he helps support emotionally handicapped
Suzanne Rhodenbaugh
won the Marianne Moore Poetry Prize for Lick of Sense, published by Helicon Nine Editions in 2001. Her book, The Whole Shebang, will be published
Naomi Shihab Nye
her books of poetry include, 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East , A Maze Me: Poems for Girls , Red Suitcase, Words Under the
B.Z. Niditch
is a poet, playwright, fiction writer, and teacher, as well as founder and artistic director of The Original Theatre in Boston. His work is
Ariana Nash
teaches creative writing in Wilmington, North Carolina. She has published poetry in Xenith and 2River View. She owes a great debt of gratitude
Jack Myers
professor of English and creative writing atSouthern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas was the author of eighteen books of and about poetry.
Daryl Morazzini
has a BA from the University of Southern Maine in Philosophy and History, an MAR from Yale Divinity in Religion and Literature, and an MFA from
Jim McGarrah
poems, essays, and stories have appeared in many literary magazines over the past decade, most recently in After Shocks: Poems of Recovery, Bayou
Michael Macklin
is an associate editor with The Café Review. Lately, he has been working with local poets and police officers to produce The Portland Police
Sandee Lyles
is a Registered Nurse, poet, freelance writer, and Publishing Editor of Oak Bend Review. She lives with a houseful of teens, animals, and Jack
Joanne Lowery
her poems have appeared in many literary magazines, including Birmingham Poetry Review, Eclipse, Smartish Pace, Cimarron Review, roger, Atlanta
Sydney Lea
has published eight collections of poetry, most recently Ghost Pain (Sarabande, 2005); two collections of nonfiction, the latest A Little
Richard Jackson
is the author of nine books of poems, most recently, Half Lives: Petrarchan Poems (Autumn House, 2004), Unauthorized Autobiography: New and
Norbert Hirschhorn
is a physician in international public health, commended by President Bill Clinton as an “American Health Hero.” He lives in London and Beirut.
Alexander Etheridge
“I knew Jack Myers for years. I’ve also been writing poems for a good while — and if I’ve had any success with it, much of the credit is
Patrick Dillon
was born in 1956 in County Louth, Ireland. In 1997, he received a scholarship for a summer workshop at the Poet’s House in Donegal. In 2002, he
Brad Davis
earned an MFA from Vermont College. Jack Myers was one of his four advisors. A poem he began while working with Jack won an AWP Intro Journal
Mark Cox
professor of creative writing at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, has received many prominent honors and awards. He is the author
Paul Christensen
his latest book of poems, On Being Human, is due from Wings Press this spring. He has published seven other collections, and the memoirs, West
W.E. Butts
is the 2009 –2014 New Hampshire Poet Laureate, and the author of Sunday Evening at the Stardust Café, winner of the 2006 Iowa Source
Andrea Blancas
Beltran: graduated from Southern Methodist University in 2003 with a BA in Sociology and a Minor in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis.
Robin Behn
is the author of three books of poetry, Paper Bird (Texas Tech), which won the AWP Award Series in Poetry, The Red Hour (HarperCollins), and
Ralph Angel
books include Neither World, winner of the 1995 James Laughlin Award of the Academy of American Poets, and Exceptions and Melancholies: Poems
Marian Aitches
teaches in the History Department at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Her first collection of poems, Fishing for Light, won the Wings
Artist Biographies
Reviewer Biographies
Michael Macklin
is an associate editor with The Café Review. Lately, he has been working with local poets and police officers to produce The Portland Police
Meghan Cadwallader
began writing as soon as she could read, but her formal education includes a BA in French/English from Hollins University, a Master’s in English