July 6, 2020
FOOL INVENTS THE PIANO, 1250 A.D.
—from Rattle #67, Spring 2020
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William Trowbridge: “Fool, here and in my collection Ship of Fool, is based on the fool archetype, which runs from the beginnings of storytelling up to modern films (silent and sound), fiction, poetry, and stand-up comedy. He is combination schlemiel and shlimazel, alternately the spiller and the spilled-on. Often the scapegoat, he is, as St. Chrysostom put it, ‘he who gets slapped.’ My Fool, blundering into hell with Lucifer and company, is reincarnated in various historical times, with occasional unplanned visits back to the heavenly realm, operated as a mega-corporation by its Enron-style CEO. I thought I was through with my not-so-distant relative after the collection came out, but he’s back again, none the wiser.” (web)
The Spring 2020 issue features a special tribute section of poems written by students of Kim Addonizio’s poetry workshops (as well as one poem by Kim herself). Kim is as extraordinary a teacher as she is a poet, a fact that’s apparent in the rich, accomplished work of her students. She shares candidly about her teaching philosophy in a conversation with Alan Fox, as well as her approach to writing, and there’s much for both new and experienced poets to glean from her insights.
