The Poet's Child: Edited by Michael Wiegers (Copper Canyon Press Anthology)

Rating:
Summary: "So how're the kids?"
Review: This anthology, the first in a planned series of anthologies to explore common themes, is a look at the role of parenting and the intimacies of parent and child, as experienced by forty-two distinguished poets.
The publisher notes that the poems, in a variety of ways, answer the oft heard question, "So how're the kids?" This they do and then some. This collection will break your heart, cause you to laugh out loud and bring back memories of anger, fear, despair, wonder, love, joy and a host of other recollections on the experience of parenthood that will linger in your thoughts long after you have finished the book.
The poets come from an eclectic background as diverse as a Chinese village, the woods of the Pacific Northwest, Norway, Poland, a contemporary American city and discuss a wide array of parenthood related themes such as the father-child relationship; new parenthood; illness & loss; political issues; mother-child relationship; and breastfeeding. One of my favorite piems is by gregory Orr titled Father's Song that contains the following lines and present a feeling I suspect has been felt by many parents...and children: "I try to teach her caution, She tries to teach me risk."
The poem by Anna Swir, Maternity, contains the following passage that exposes the diverse feelings of one contemplating parenthood and its mysteries: "You are not going to defeat me" I say. "I won't be an egg which you would crack in a hurry for the world, a footbridge that you would take on the way to your life. I will defend myself."
This is a wonderful collection of poems dealing with parenting that will appeal to any reader that has ever contemplated the question "So how're the kids?"