A Night
of Poetry
By Kimberly N. Kottman
The MFA Program 30th
Anniversary Poetry Reading went splendidly Thursday, November 5th, as we were
joined by husband and wife, David St. John and Anna Journey, two highly
accomplished and talented poets. On that evening at the ASU Tempe campus, we
were extremely fortunate to have both poets read from their most current works.
Anna Journey, introduced graciously by Anna Murdock, read
for us several poems, many from her collection, “Vulgar Remedies”. Among those
poems were “Confessions of a Firestarter”, “Saint Bruise”, and a piece
specially dedicated to her husband, David, “Wedding Night: We Share an Heirloom
Tomato on Our Hotel Balcony Overlooking the Ocean in Which Natalie Wood
Drowned”. I find “Saint Bruise” to be particularly intriguing, as it describes
the physical manifestation of guilt.
With another eloquent introduction by Gary Garrison,
David St. John read aloud for us his poetry, many of which are from his newest
collection, “The Auroras”. “In The High Country”, “Without Mercy, the Rains
Continued”, and “Hungry Ghost” are all pieces from this latest collection. I
was especially touched by one of the poems St. John read from another collection,
entitled “The One Who Should Write My Elegy is Dead”. This piece is dedicated
to the late Larry Levis, a dear friend of St. John.
I was highly fortunate to meet both writers after the reading event. Both Anna Journey and David St. John signed my copies of their books and are tremendously supportive of the MFA Program and encourage young writers. I know that I speak for the department when I say that we were truly honored by both writers' presence for that special evening and sharing in the passion for literature and poetry.
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