Tag Archives: Revision

From a Discarded Post II

Posted on July 4, 2017 by Adam Penna

“So what is the divine?  First, it is in us and not outside of us.  All searching for the divine out there leads to dead ends, unless that searching corresponds to some inner searching.  There are many, many scapes and … Continue reading →

Posted in Commonplaces & Other Miracles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

From a Discarded Post

Posted on June 24, 2017 by Adam Penna

“A poet’s first preoccupation has to be with love.  Where ordinary men and women–I don’t mean ordinary in any pejorative sense, but rather in its Latin sense–can afford to submit their lives to chance and do, mostly, fairly well as … Continue reading →

Posted in Commonplaces & Other Miracles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On Small Fires, Little Flames

Posted on May 16, 2017 by Adam Penna

I wrote Small Fires, Little Flames while I was writing Talk of Happiness.  In some ways, I see these two books as complementary, so it makes sense that they should come out, more or less, together.  Plus, it suits my … Continue reading →

Posted in Publications | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Revising Revision

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Adam Penna

A few years ago I wrote a long essay called “Why Poetry Doesn’t Matter.”  I only remember now the gist of that argument.  And the conclusion went something like this.  When considering the uses of poetry, we ought not to … Continue reading →

Posted in Starting from Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sabbatical

Posted on October 6, 2009 by Adam Penna

I started this blog to correspond with my sabbatical, which began officially in January and ended when I taught my first class in September.  It was a rough few days the first week, and I’m still not altogether used to … Continue reading →

Posted in Starting from Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Humility & Poetry

Posted on June 17, 2009 by Adam Penna

Eliot says that humility is endless.  And Thoreau says that “humility like darkness reveals the heavenly lights.”  But I’ve been thinking lately about a book called The Wisdom of the Desert, translated by Thomas Merton, which is a compendium of meditations, lessons … Continue reading →

Posted in Starting from Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In the Highest Limb, Satisfied

Posted on May 31, 2009 by Adam Penna

My thoughts these days have revolved around prayer rather than poetry.  For me these two aren’t so far apart.  Many of the poems I have written are more prayer than poem, as far as I’m concerned anyway, especially if the aim … Continue reading →

Posted in Starting from Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Few Thoughts After a Long Trip

Posted on April 9, 2009 by Adam Penna

It is part of the poet’s job to get used to his inner rhythms, those seemingly predictable patterns which, from a distance, map his temperament.  I was reading some old poems yesterday and found that, as I have always hoped, the new poems … Continue reading →

Posted in Starting from Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Revise, Revise

Posted on January 8, 2009 by Adam Penna

At the end of Rilke’s poem on the busted up bust of Apollo, he concludes: You must change your life.  The idea is that, after looking at this vital work of art, one that retains all its power despite or even … Continue reading →

Posted in Starting from Poetry | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment