Synopses & Reviews
“Connie Wanek . . . is superb, mature [and] a master of mood and language.”—St. Paul Pioneer Press
“No poet I know, with the exception of Jane Kenyon, is as able to discover the magic and depth in ordinary, day-to-day life and to artfully render that vision for the reader.”—Louis Jenkins
Connie Wanek’s third book of poems, On Speaking Terms, is amusing, tender, and surprising. Herself a librarian in Duluth, Minnesota, Wanek’s poems emerge from everyday objects—Scrabble, garlic, lipstick, hawkweed—and the landscapes, waterscapes, and severe winters of the upper Midwest. Readers will shove off in canoes, buckle on skis, set fishing nets in Lake Superior, and spend time in the real world of the imagination. Lit by startling metaphors, Wanek’s work has been justly compared to Wislawa Szymborska’s for its wry wit and spare “Eastern European” sensibility.
. . . Afterwards it was Eve who made
the first snowman, her second sin, and she laughed
as she rolled up the wet white carpet
and lifted the wee head into place.
“And God causeth the sun to melt her labors,
for He was a jealous God.”
Connie Wanek is the author of two books of poems. She lives in Duluth, Minnesota, where she is a public librarian and renovates old houses with her husband. Her poems have appeared in many journals, including The Atlantic Monthly and Poetry. In 2006 she was named a Witter Bynner Fellow in Poetry from the Library of Congress.
Synopsis
Connie Wanek . . . is superb, mature and] a master of mood and language. "St. Paul Pioneer Press"
No poet I know, with the exception of Jane Kenyon, is as able to discover the magic and depth in ordinary, day-to-day life and to artfully render that vision for the reader. Louis Jenkins
Connie Wanek s third book of poems, "On Speaking Terms," is amusing, tender, and surprising. Herself a librarian in Duluth, Minnesota, Wanek s poems emerge from everyday objects Scrabble, garlic, lipstick, hawkweed and the landscapes, waterscapes, and severe winters of the upper Midwest. Readers will shove off in canoes, buckle on skis, set fishing nets in Lake Superior, and spend time in the real world of the imagination. Lit by startling metaphors, Wanek s work has been justly compared to Wislawa Szymborska s for its wry wit and spare Eastern European sensibility.
." . . Afterwards it was Eve who made"
"the first snowman, her second sin, and she laughed"
"as she rolled up the wet white carpet"
"and lifted the wee head into place."
" And God causeth the sun to melt her labors, "
"for He was a jealous God. "
Connie Wanek is the author of two books of poems. She lives in Duluth, Minnesota, where she is a public librarian and renovates old houses with her husband. Her poems have appeared in many journals, including "The Atlantic Monthly" and "Poetry." In 2006 she was named a Witter Bynner Fellow in Poetry from the Library of Congress."
Synopsis
Connie Wanek's poetry--rooted in the Upper Midwest--is noted for adventurous imagery and pitch-perfect metaphor.
Synopsis
Poetry. Connie Wanek's third book of poems, ON SPEAKING TERMS, is amusing, tender, and surprising. Herself a librarian in Duluth, Minnesota, Wanek's poems emerge from everyday objects--Scrabble, garlic, lipstick, hawkweed--and the landscapes, waterscapes, and severe winters of the upper Midwest. Readers will shove off in canoes, buckle on skis, set fishing nets in Lake Superior, and spend time in the real world of the imagination. Lit by startling metaphors, Wanek's work has been justly compared to Wislawa Szymborska's for its wry wit and spare "Eastern European" sensibility.
About the Author
Connie Wanek is the author of three books--ON SPEAKING TERMS (Copper Canyon Press, 2010), HARTLEY FIELD (Holy Cow! Press, 2002), and BONFIRE (New Rivers Press, 1997)--and she has been the recipient of several awards, including the Willow Poetry Prize and the Jane Kenyon Poetry Prize. Most recently, she was named a Witter Bynner Fellow of the Library of Congress by United States Poet Laureate Ted Kooser. She lives in the country outside Duluth, Minnesota, but often finds herself in a green tent somewhere in the Boundary Waters wilderness.