"Beneath a coat of rust, a ruddy fur of rust, a slipcover of rust"
Šalamun, Anonymous, Bowman, Zagajewski, Ryan
Tomaž Šalamun (tr. from Slovenian by Brian Henry):
Malay figure (tr. by W.S. Merwin):
The Sharpener is a reader-supported newsletter. If you get value from these newsletters and want to support my work I encourage you to take out a paid subscription.
Catherine Bowman:
Adam Zagajewski (tr. from Polish by Clare Cavanagh):
Kay Ryan:
Junior Wells, “Ships on the Ocean,” rec. September 22, 1965:
Gavin Bryars, “The Sinking of the Titanic,” rec. 1975:
About Sean Singer
Sean Singer Editorial Services
Subscribe to The Sharpener
The paid-subscriber version of The Sharpener includes weekly installments of craft pieces, approaches to writing problems, topics in contemporary publishing for writers, and biographical features on poets I consider important.
What beautiful work, thank you for sharing these collections.
About a year ago I was pleasantly surprised as I had purchased a used book and inside of it found a folded up page, maybe previously used as a bookmark, with a poem also on the theme of ship, so I thought I would share it here, as it's been reflecting with me ever since. At a recent master plant retreat in Peru I would read it every morning and night in the hammock of my tambo.
George Gray
I have studies many times
The marble which was chiseled for me -
A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor.
In truth it pictures not my destination
But my life.
For love was offered me and I shrank from its disillusionment;
Sorrow knocked at me door, but I was afraid;
Ambition called to me, but I dreaded the chances.
Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life.
And now I know that we must lift the sail
And catch the winds of destiny
Wherever they drive the boat.
To put meaning in one's life may end in madness,
But life without meaning is the torture
Of restlessness and vague desire -
It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid.
(Edgar Lee Masters)
What a deep dive this series! Particularly love Duende by Catherine Bowman