Friday, July 08, 2016

Poetry Friday: In Which I Manage to Talk about Anne Porter, Woodward and Bernstein, Jen Fulwiler, and Gracious Husbands Who Care About Poetry

Jen Fulwiler is on my mind at the moment because I'll be on her radio show later today (details here), and poetry's on my mind because it's Friday and I'm breathing.

As I sat here, mulling over what to do for Poetry Friday, I remembered a post from a few years ago in which poetry and Fulwiler-y things came together on this blog, so I decided to rerun that post. It's mostly about the inimitable Anne Porter, a poet I love dearly, but it's also about not being able to talk without quoting movies, and about husbands who send their wives (and others) all the best links.

So, without further ado, a peek back at a panoply of poetic stuff (and be sure to click through and read some of Porter's poetry):



(from February 11, 2011)

Sometimes, Atticus and I talk in movie lines. You know what I mean -- the stuff that becomes part of your family lexicon.

One of our lines is from All the President's Men. Bernstein goes to see Jane Alexander (I can't remember her character's name) to pry some information out of her. She won't talk, but he leads her to confirm things they already know, such as some initials (but not full names).  The thing is, they don't actually know all of the names on that first visit, but she did confirm that one of the names starts with a P.  Later, they go back and because Porter was on their list of suspects, when one of them says, "Who is P?" the other says, "P we know is Porter," and then when she admits Porter received money, they've got what they want. The scene ends with Jane Alexander saying, "Who told you about Porter?"

None of that has anything to do with today's post, other than the fact that I like to imitate Jane Alexander and when I want to sound confused, I say, "Who told you about Porter?"

There is one thing that the story has in common with today's post, and it's the "P" connection. Today it's not about political crimes but about poetry. And Anne Porter.

The other day, I heard from Jennifer Fulwiler's husband.  You know the wonderful Jennifer of Conversion Diary*, don't you? I feel a kinship with her because we both know what it's like to be an atheist who gets gobsmacked by Catholicism. But that's probably where the comparisons end because, of course, Jennifer is much taller, hipper, smarter and funnier than I am. Anyway, "F" wrote to me (F we know is Fulwiler) because Blogger was not allowing him to leave a comment on my last Anne Porter post (and if it does that to you, will you let me know? I may compile a list of grievances) and he wanted to share this link:

A 95-Year-Old Poet Finds Her Muse and Literary Praise

He rightly clued me in to the fact that no list of Anne Porter links is complete without this article, and I now agree with him. Visit the link to see the article that initially spread the news about the amazing Anne, and read more snippets of her poetry there.

So, the answer to, "Who told you about Porter?" is:

Atticus
and
The Writer's Almanac
and
Janice Harayda
and
The Poetry Foundation
and
Archives of American Art 
and
Amazon
and
The Gracious Mr. Fulwiler

Thanks to all of the above, and -- sorry, Woodstein ... you got scooped on this one.

~~~~~

Back to 2016: The Poetry Friday round up is at The Logonauts

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10 comments:

Tabatha said...

If someone asks who told me about Porter, I'll have to admit it was you. :-) Thanks, Karen.

Brenda at FriendlyFairyTales said...

Of poetry and husbands, words boiled down in the dark, left lingering in the morning. There's a poem there.

Linda B said...

I'm glad you gave another look at this post, Karen, funny and wise thinking all together. Thanks, will be trying to use "Who told me about Porter?" and explaining it too!

Heidi Mordhorst said...

Well, that led me to all kinds of fun places, Karen. Your brain works the way mine does, I think. And have I ever mentioned how much I love knowing that your husband is named Atticus? (At least I think that's his real name.)

Karen Edmisten said...

Heidi, I feel terrible disappointing you about his name! :) When I started blogging more than ten years ago, I assigned literary names to everyone: Anne-with-an-e, Betsy Ray (from Betsy-Tacy), Ramona Quimby, and, yes, Atticus Finch. But he does get called Atticus around here sometimes, and cards and gifts are often addressed with that name. Glad you had fun with the rabbit trails of the post!

Linda and Tabatha, glad to have told you about Porter. ;)

Brenda, by jove, I think you're right, and I think you already found it. :)

Katie TheLogonauts said...

My husband and I tend to use favorite TV show lines in place of longer conversations. Fun!

Karen Edmisten said...

Katie, our whole family tends to talk in quotes, too. :)

Mary Lee said...

Sigh. I am movie illiterate, so quotes and allusions are pretty much totally lost on me. Love Porter, though, and your incredible web of Porter connections!

Bridget Magee said...

I must go through this list of Porter links, Karen. Thanks for the resource. (We, too, are a movie/TV quote family. =)

Karen Edmisten said...

Thanks, Mary Lee, and Bridget -- enjoy the links! :)