Customer Reviews

Beloved on the Earth: 150 Poems of Grief and Gratitude

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Because grieving is individual and ever-changing, a collection of perspectives and experiences can be valuable. This rich collection of poems of grief and gratitude will be a valuable resource for grieving persons and those that work them. Turn the page and the reader will find a poem that is similar in experience or one that invites further pondering or affect. Turn another page and find a metaphor or image that opens vistas for sorrow and appreciation.

I highly recommend this volume. It is full of many wonderful poems.

The loss of one's family is one of the toughest things one will ever face. The collaborative project of Jim Perlman, Deborah Cooper, Mara Hart, and Pamela Mittlefehldt, "Beloved on the Earth: 150 Poems of Grief and Gratitude" is a collection of poems from various well known poets as they reflect on the losses of their loved ones and the wide range of emotions they feel in remembering what they have done to their lives. Not just mourning, these poets express their gratitude for the positive impacts the eulogized have had in their lives. "Beloved on the Earth" is a moving compilation, highly recommended. "Pueblo Blessing" by Judith E. Prest: Hold onto what is good/Even if it is a handful of earth.//Hold onto what you believe/Even if it is a tree that stands by itself.//Hold onto what you must do/Even if it is a long way from here.//Hold onto life/Even if it seems easier to let go.//Hold onto my hand/Even if I have gone away from you.

Spending time with family and remembering loved ones is what life - and death - is all about, but for some it's a little harder than for others. Beloved on the Earth is an anthology of poems that can ease this distress.

When the iron horse shakes the platform,
she'll board, saying, "What a lovely
thing to find." And I'll wave goodbye.
What a lovely thing to lose.

One thing that makes this anthology so interesting is the story of its creation. Jim Perlman, editor and publisher for Duluth's Holy Cow! Press, started planning this collection of poetry after his mother passed away; he was joined by three friends and literary enthusiasts who also experienced a loss. Each, through dealing with their grief, realized how little has been written or compiled about the experience of death and mourning. They put out a call for poems and were overwhelmed at the response, which they narrowed to 150 poems on the subject of "grief and gratitude."

The collection features over 25 Minnesota writers, as well as writers from as far away as Japan and Indonesia. Names like Tess Gallagher, Raymond Carver Jr., and Susan Carol Hauser may be instantly familiar, but the book also features plenty of newcomers. The title of the anthology is taken from a poem by Raymond Carver called "Late Fragment," the first one in the book.

And did you get what
you wanted from this life, even so?
I did.
And what did you want?
To call myself beloved, to feel myself
beloved on earth.

There is one detractor to this nice package of poetry, and that is the cover. With its neon tones and blurred, 70s-wallpaper look, it's just not serious enough for the work that's inside. The most appealing aspect is the variety of the poems. While it isn't a book you want to sit down and read through all at once, it is a book you can pick up to find inspiration. Just knowing it's there on the shelf might be a comfort in itself.