Rattle – Summer 2004
Issue 21
Summer 2004
Ann Stapleton
This issue of Rattle contains a tribute to Vietnamese poets, enlightening conversations with poets Li-Young Lee and Naomi Shihab Nye (in which editor Alan Fox seems less interested in hearing his own opinions than in genuinely listening to theirs), Jessica Goeller’s funny and wise essay on writing with an infant daughter balanced on one arm (the miracle: it works better!), and “Fine,” Jack Grapes’ wonderfully tender-gruff piece on father-son love.
This issue of Rattle contains a tribute to Vietnamese poets, enlightening conversations with poets Li-Young Lee and Naomi Shihab Nye (in which editor Alan Fox seems less interested in hearing his own opinions than in genuinely listening to theirs), Jessica Goeller’s funny and wise essay on writing with an infant daughter balanced on one arm (the miracle: it works better!), and “Fine,” Jack Grapes’ wonderfully tender-gruff piece on father-son love. But the bulk of the work here, and obviously the love of this magazine’s life, is poetry and nothing but, covering the distance from page fifteen to page ninety-two. Chris Green’s “My Brother Buries his Dog” and Angelo Verga’s “My Father Loves Me, He Loves Me, He Gets Down on His Knees and Hugs Me,” both about the messiness and the transcendence of love, are only two among many poems here characterized by the generosity of their attention and the hard won intelligence of their hearts. Refreshingly, few of the Contributor Notes (here a mini art form in themselves) mention publication credits, but instead attempt to address the question of why one writes. Stephanie Lenox: “I write poems because I am neither brawny enough to be a fire fighter nor honest enough to be a minister. Through poetry, I hope to save myself and perhaps rescue a few blazing moments along the way.” Rattle goes back in for those moments, again and again, as if someone’s life were at stake, which, in good poems, it somehow always is. [Rattle, 12411 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, CA 91604. E-mail: [email protected]. Single issue $8. https://www.rattle.com] – AS
