A Grammar for Snow

Before the first third of the twentieth century, almost everybody read poetry. Books of poetry were found in most homes in America. It was published in daily newspapers, taught in school, memorized and recited with enjoyment. In short, poetry once was both accessible and meaningful.

Then, modern poetry became “difficult.” It began to scare readers or turn them off with obtuseness, dense symbols or it simple became difficult to understand. It became marginalized in American literature—a place where it remains.

It should not be this way. Many poets today believe that poetry should resonate again for everyday readers.  It should share with readers the feeling that the poet empathizes with everyday people and situations. If possible, it should be hopeful, even humorous when appropriate. In short, it should be relevant.

The poems contained in A Grammar for Snow are about everyday people in small towns, cities and farms in those fly-over-states and off-the-map places who work and love and quietly live out their lives. It is about place—mostly in the U.S. Midwest--both real and imagined. Many of the poems contain elements of humor that help people deal with the sometimes-hard issues of day-to-day life.

The poems contain vivid imagery and concreteness designed to help the reader believe that these places and people really exist. More than that, the poems are designed to make the reader care about these folks and their lives, to pull for them and hope against hope that things work out.