Reviews for Mentor and Muse: Essays from Poets to Poets

The average rating for Mentor and Muse: Essays from Poets to Poets based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-05-05 00:00:00 Jeff Goodwin Blas Falconer, who teaches Austin Peay, this year published a fine first book, * A Question of Gravity and Light*. Given the jacket copy's praise for Falconer's descriptive gifts, the book should attract many literary browsers. But what genus of browsers? Aside from description, we learn in advance, Blas's major strengths concern his "embrace" of both his gayness and his Puerto Rican heritage. Some will say that such information increases our understanding of *A Question of Gravity and Light*. Others will argue that it ghettoizes Falconer and his poems. While this conundrum is impossible to explore with any sensitivity and complexity in such a short space, I think it's fair to experience some discomfort at being nudged immediately toward the belief that the most notable--and even noble--aspect of Falconer's works is its political subcontent, not its form or (sub)genre or other subject matters, his parents being among the most important. The formal pieces vary in type and quality. A sestina which relies too heavily on overly strict adherence to the traditional pattern is *A Question of Gravity and Light* seems a rare mis-step. Thus perhaps it stands--so to speak--to reason that many of the book's best works, like the lovely sonnet sequence "Dear Friend," depends, in part, on gentling the rhymes and metrics. Likewise, Falconer's poems dealing with his sexuality and ethinicity are usually best when at their subtlest, and perhaps it's no accident that these poems, too, often concern his parents. "To Know You Better" is a plangent elegy for the grandson son Falconer's mother will never embrace; "What We Have" includes the father in its physical and emotional *mise en scene*, one of loss. Falconer's ability to celebrate such moments is striking: "The faucet leaks./ He has this face, these hands, / each drop and the ghost of each drop." And now we have an excellent book of essays that Falconer co-edited: *Mentor and Muse: Essays from Poets to Poets*. My favorites thus far? Ralph Angel, Joelle Biele, Shara McCallum, Stanley Plumly, Jane Satterfield, and Michael Waters. But this must-read collection arrived at the beginning of an over-busy year, so I suspect this is a review to which I'll return and add more!

Review # 2 was written on 2016-04-04 00:00:00 Matt Ammerman One of the most insightful collections of essays on various topics pertinent to poetry that I have ever read. I love the idea of prompts or assignments but too often the suggestions given strike me as hackneyed or overly simple. The exercises included in this book are smart and useful and the combination with essays gives the book a double richness.