"KISSING POETRY'S SISTER" GETS KUDOS IN "FREE VERSE"

I knew I'd have a couple of poems

in the just-delivered (yesterday!) issue of Free Verse*, which is edited and published by Linda Aschbrenner in Marshfield, Wisconsin. In the same issue, #78, Wisconsin poet Michael Kriesel reviews my book of essays, Kissing Poetry's Sister** (Joint Venture, 2002), and I found what he said very pleasant to read. My essays explore what it means to write and be a writer and his review accurately captured the spirit of them - in some 250 words. A writer is always blessed to find a careful reader; and maybe has to blush a bit at the kind things Kriesel has to say:

These essays in Kissing Poetry's Sister by Tom Montag have a gentle tone, more spoken than written. They are observations by a poet in his 50s, open to the world and learning - essays that encourage you to try your own someday by their unassuming nature....

These essays kiss the joy, the poetry in every day - that bit of grace, that source of transformation, for ourselves, and for the world.

Michael Kriesel's poems and reviews have been widely published in the small press. His recent chapbooks include Heart's Run (Green Bean Press) and Matter Ballet (BoneWorld Press). He recently won the Niedecker Award from the Countil for Wisconsin Writers. So when he speaks, you listen. Thanks, Michael, for this lovely review. Thanks, Linda, for publishing it.

------------------------
* A subscription to Free Verse can be ordered from Linda Aschbrenner at M2333 Marsh Road, Marshfield, WI 54449 (12 issues for $25).

** Kissing Poetry's Sister (Joint Venture, 2002) can be ordered from Tom Montag at PO Box 8, Fairwater, WI 53931 for $12.50 plus $2 for s&h.

Comments

[Marja-Leena]

Lovely words, Tom, and true - congratulations!

[Tom Montag]

Thank you, Marja-Leena. Doesn't it always feel so good when someone understands what you were trying to do? I suppose the visual artist gets a similar pleasure from an understanding review of a show....