Dear Mr. Simic

I should have written this letter years ago, not today after reading of your death in The New York Times. And though you will never read my words, I still need to write how much I learned from you and what’s more, how important it was for me that such a person as you existed.

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Tracks in the Surf

Can you read this? Most days, my words look more like tracks of a sandpiper skittering along the edge of the sea. But I see them clearly now—o blessed words! There’s so much I want to say before they leave me again and I must go back to that inarticulate cell, as memories play out

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Sex Shop Sestina

I chose to write this poem in an unusual and complex French form called a sestina. You may notice that throughout the poem there are six words that occur at the end of each of the first six stanzas. And as if that isn’t difficult enough, these six words must be used in a precisely

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“Hopper’s People” Video

Hi All, For those of you who didn’t have the chance to attend my recent reading or watch the entire video, here’s a short clip of me reading “Hopper’s People,” accompanied by images of Edward Hopper’s paintings.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfFNgDszGF4&ab_channel=GeneTwaronite This poem is part of my latest poetry collection (my fourth!) Shopping Cart Dreams, available from Kelsay Books

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How to Stuff a Rhino

A long time ago, I wrote this children’s story about a boy’s imaginary trip to Africa. It was published in my short story collection Dragon Daily News. I was recently asked my Robert Topp, of the website Read Me a Story, Ink (https://readmeastoryink.com/) if he could record the story and set it to music. You

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Better to Own a House

I was going over some older poems of mine for my reading tomorrow here in Tucson, and in light of today’s disturbing Supreme Court ruling I thought I’d post this poem. It cannot be said enough. Women’s reproductive rights are human rights. And none of us are truly free when women are forced to give

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