Good Poems, American Places [Hardcover]

Garrison Keillor (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 14, 2011

Another bestselling anthology from Garison Keillor-beautiful verses rooted in the American landscape.

Garrison Keillor, the editor of Good Poems and Good Poems for Hard Times, host of The Writer's Almanac, and all-around arbiter of fine American poetry, introduces another inspiring collection by a range of poets, some beloved favorites and others brash unknowns, organized by regions of America.

From Nantucket to Knoxville, Manhattan to Minnesota, the heart can be exalted anywhere. Think of these poems as postcards-from Billy Collins, Nikki Giovanni, William Carlos Williams, Naomi Shihab Nye, Gary Snyder, Mary Oliver, and many more.

Like the previous Good Poems collections, this volume celebrates the high-spirited, the witty and antic and jazzy voice that in many ways defines the land of the free. Choosing poems full of humor, sharp insight, and warmth, Garrison Keillor once again makes good poetry accessible and immensely enjoyable.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Garrison Keillor, author of nearly a dozen books, is founder and host of the acclaimed radio show A Prairie Home Companion and the daily program The Writer's Almanac. He is also a regular contributor to Time magazine.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (April 14, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670022543
• ISBN-13: 978-0670022540
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #564,144 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Garrison Keillor's Poetic Travelogue May 7, 2011

By Prospero

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

When I first saw this anthology in a book store I was prepared to like it less than Keillor's two previous anthologies, "Good Poems" and "Good Poems for Hard Times." I didn't believe that this new collection with it's poems describing different American locations would be as appealing.
I was totally wrong. Keillor is a wonderful anthologist with an unerring eye for poems which cover a broad range of moods from pathos to wry comedy. This collection is eclectic, funny and humane. At a time when so much about America can seem troubling or confused, this collection reminds us what a motley, messy and yet lovable collection of malcontents we Americans can be. Whether or not you've spent any time travelling around this country, this collection will remind you of the sprawling, majestic and quirky grandeur of America.
I loved the book!

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Poems for the Common Man--and Woman: "I Wish I Had Danced More." May 27, 2011

By H. F. Corbin TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Garrison Keillor continues in his quest to bring poetry to the man and woman on the street in this his third collection of poems "as heard on the Writer's Almanac." Certainly he is to be commended for being the one individual who has done more than anyone else-- with the possible exception of perhaps Bill Collins--to bring new poetry converts into his church. Many is the time that I have sat in my car, having arrived at my destination before Mr. Keiller has finished his poem for the day in that immediately recognizable soothing voice of his, to get a fix for the day from his reading. (And sometimes I have ordered an obscure volume of poetry from an unknown poet he has just read, only to discover that too often Mr. K. has read the best poem in the collection!)

No amateur with words, himself, Mr. Keillor writes a decent introduction about his childhood in Minnesota, family travels, and how grade school teachers ruin poetry for our youth. "Americans are impatient with riddles and so they give poetry a wide berth, knowing from Miss Fernwood's 8th grade English class that a page of writing with an uneven right margin means a series of jokes with no punch lines, a puzzle with no right answers." Too often poets whom Keillor describes as "upward-striving" write about Europe, but not the writers he has selected in this collection of over 260 poems. He gives a whole laundry list of subjects that these poems write about, purely American, and Europe be damned.

Mr. Keillor includes a lot of poems from poets I know and like: Wendell Berry, Robert Bly, Charles Bukowski, Raymond Carver, Billy Collins, Stephen Dunn, Allen Ginsberg, Donald Hall, Robinson Jeffers, Galway Kinnell, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Grace Paley, Kenneth Rexroth, Theodore Roethke, W. D.... Snodgdrass, Gary Snyder, William Stafford, John Updike, James Tate, Marge Percy, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Sara Teasdale, May Sarton, Donald Justice, Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Carlos Williams, Anne Sexton, Dana Gioia--and of course the father and mother of twentieth century American poetry, Mr. Whitman and Ms. Dickinson. Mr. Keiller even includes Johnny Cash for his "Folsom Prison Blues." (I cannot imagine, however, hearing anyone read this poem rather than sing it.)

There are even more poets I've never heard of in this big collection in praise of America. My two favorites are from poets previously unknown to me: The first is "Bridal Shower" by George Bilgere, a poem that resonated with me to the 12th power. I suspect others feel just as strongly about people who talk on cell phones in public. Here is the poem in its entirety.

Perhaps in a distant café,
Four or five people are talking
With the four or five people
Who are chatting on their cell phones this morning
In my favorite café.

And perhaps someone there,
Someone like me, is watching them as they frown,
Or smile, or shrug
At their invisible friends or lovers,
Jabbing the air for emphasis.

And, like me, he misses the old days,
When talking to yourself
Meant you were crazy,
Back when being crazy was a big deal.
Not just an acronym
Or something you could take a pill for.

I liked it
When people who were talking to themselves
might actually have been talking to God or an angel.
You respected people like that.

You didn't want to kill them,
As I want to kill the woman at the next table
With the little blue light on her ear
Who has been telling the emptiness in front of her
About her daughter's bridal shower
In astonishing detail
For the past thirty minutes.

O person like me
Phoneless in your distant cafe,
I wish we could meet to discuss this,
And perhaps you would help me
Murder this woman on her cell phone,

After which we could have a cup of coffee,
Maybe a bagel, and talk to each other,
Face to face.

The second poem, from a section named "Never Expected To Be There" is on a totally different subject, one that will tear your heart out, "Meadowbrook Nursing Home" by Alice N. Persons. The narrator of the poem takes her cat Lucy, who is fifteen and "getting creaky herself," to visit Mrs. Harris in a nursing home. Mrs. Harris speaks:

"I had a cat called Lily--she was so pretty, all white.
She was with me for twenty years, after my husband died too.
She slept with me every night--I loved her very much.
It's hard, in here, since I can't get around."

Lucy was settling in on the bed.
"You won't believe it, but I used to love to dance.
I was a fool for it! I even won contests.
I wish I had danced more.
It's funny, what you miss when everything. . . . . is gone."
This last was a murmur. She'd fallen asleep.

The narrator then goes home and dances to Tina Turner. This poem, to paraphrase Mr. Keillor in describing Emily Dickinson's poetry in his first collection of poems GOOD POEMS, will take your head off.

Thank you, Mr. Keillor, for another fine collection of poems with something for everyone. Read more ›

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Land of poems May 13, 2011

By wogan TOP 50 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

At first one might assume this is a book of poems by Garrison Keillor; but they are ones he has selected in another anthology. This one is of American places. His subjects include ; on the road -trains, driving, summer, the place we were naked- skinny-dipping, city life, snow, residential, work, out west, show business, ocean and other miscellaneous subjects such as a slave auction, a Greyhound bus, sunset, a wonderful `Why I Have a Crush on the UPS Man'.
Most authors have 2 or more poems. There are none by Garrison. Authors include many that are not well known, but also John Updike, Walt Whitman and Johnny Cash's `Folsom Prison Blues'. Two indexes are included, for authors and poem titles , a biography of the authors is incorporated; but it would have been nice to have the page numbers of their poems in that information.

There are poems of specific places and events that all give the flavor of America...the simple things - walking in to a hardware store, riding a train. . The uniqueness of America is shown- a time past and time of the present. This collection does a marvelous job of conveying the heart of America, even if you are not really a devotee of poetry.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Book January 14, 2012

By Lisa Steiner

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a very good compilation of poetry. As with most of Garrison Keillor's books, the voices selected are different, fresh and interesting. The pieces are generally not ones people are familiar with, so it is interesting and enjoyable.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Keillor's Good Poems, American Places January 7, 2012

By Elisabeth Rector

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Bought this as a gift for my husband. He needs a new addition to his poetry collection every year. This hit the spot, seeing as how poetry is a personal preference thing. This is a great collection for people who appreciate the various beauties and cultures around our country.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful book December 26, 2011

By Judi

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I really love this book, having purchased several for gifts. It contains a travelogue of delightful poems that gives you a feel for different towns and cities across the United States. The Good Poems books truly are well-earned for their titles. They aren't sappy nor are they punctuated with down-in-the-mouth sentiments of poets grousing about their bum-luck. They are a cross between good storytelling and charming contemporary poetry. I always go away feeling better for spending the time in my armchair travel. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in taking the high road.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars kindle poetry issue December 22, 2011

By Constant Reader

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

The Garrison Keilor poetry anthologies are among the best around. However, my hopes of having this as a resource on my Kindle haven't been realized. I'm a poet myself. I spend hours figuring out line length and arrangement on the page. Poetry is not solely an oral art; our eyes react to the visual impact of the poem and the line arrangement assists our reading. The Kindle puts the title on separate pages, wraps lines that should extend out into space, and overall doesn't reflect the way the book's editors and the poem's writers originally intended the book and the individual poems to look. I still use this on my Kindle so that I can reread favorite poems, but I am planning to buy the print edition at some point. Hmmm, I wonder if that's what was planned?