The Thyroid and two Poetry Books Everyone Will Love…
So, got back from a thyroid specialist yesterday who told me I’ve had a weird thyroid problem for some time (manifested by odd lab results and by the big old swollen thyroid I’ve had for years) where it switches from hypo-to-hyper, and has to do with the immune system. So I’m starting a new med, this time a synthetic t4 thyroid hormone. Oh, the excitement of me and my new medications…(PS some problems that can be symptoms of thyroid problems – constant sleepiness or sleeplessness, blood pressure fluctuations, joint problems that mimic arthritis, and of course, the weight fluctuations that come out of nowhere. and puffy eyes. It’s really the puffy eyes that got me. Puffy eyes? I’m such a girl…)
On to Poetry!
Dorianne Laux’s first book, the truly great Awake, is soon going to be re-issued by Eastern Washington University Press, and good for them! This book has long been one of my favorites of hers, a little rawer but certainly as powerful as anything in the later books, including a certain poem called the “Tooth Fairy” which may be Dorianne’s best poem EVER! (Buy it from the Press here: http://ewupress.ewu.edu/poetry/awake.htm) It makes a great holiday gift!) I hate it when good books go out of print too early, and Awake was definitely one of those books. Kudos to EWU Press!
I have to admit that, though I loved Matthea Harvey’s poetry in journals like A Public Space, when I bought her first two books I liked, but not loved, the work – certainly you could tell Harvey was a clever and funny writer, but the whole books seemed a little intimidating, or opaque. Her newest book, Modern Life, I have fallen in love with the entire thing. It’s not just the references to robots (of course, I’m always game for those) or Japanese anime classics (her “Robo-Boy” being a clear reference to “Astro Boy”) because even the standalone poems in the book are outstanding, as are the poems in the series “Terror of the Future/The Future of Terror” that was based on a dictionary list of words between “Future” and “Terror” and manage to evoke our post 9/11 anxiety in a new and chilling way.
Here’s a link to buy it at Amazon:
Modern Life at Amazon
And, Matthea Harvey is coming to Seattle to read at Open Books on November 14!
Anonymous
Jeannine,
How does Dorianne pronounce her name? Is it “Lox,” “Lux,” “Lau,” or something else? I’m teaching _What We Carry_ next week, and I want to at least get the author’s name right. Also any anecdotes about her as a teacher would be appreciated.
Tom
http://www.steeltoebooks.com
Karen J. Weyant
Yes, and I’m such a girl, too! With all the thyroid issues I had, one of the biggest things that upset me was what happened to my hair — dry, brittle, blah!
Major excitement about Dorianne Laux’s book coming back to the poetry world — it’s the only one of hers (I think) that I don’t have. Now I know at least one book that will be on my Christmas list.
jeannine
Dear Tom,
It’s like “Bagels and Lox,” although, interestingly, it is a French name. She is a great teacher and a wonderfully fun person – when I first met her she was wearing a suit jacket with a South Park t-shirt underneath.
Dear Karen,
I know – I’ve been using waaay too much conditioner lately. Awake is fabulous – I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
k1tchenwitch
“Awake” is one of my all-time favorites. I loaned my first copy out years ago and never got it back, so I searched online and now own two copies. Gotta have a back-up, y’know.
Hope the thyroid rollercoaster levels off soon.
Rachel Dacus
Jeannine,
Sorry to hear about your weird thyroid thing. We can start a club. I have a huge thyroid with seven nodules. Apparently, it’s much better if the nodules come in batches than a single. But now annual scans and once, the biopsy. Not horrible, but not nice. Synthroid (synthetic T4) did wonders for me, but then stopped, so I’m back on the Armour at a higher dose. No one understands the thyroid. I’ve decided it’s the poetry gland.