Kooser Features Pastan

Linda Pastan is one of the best poets writing today. The Washington Post has opined that Linda Pastan is “one of the real treasures in poetry of our time.” So therefore, I congratulate Ted Kooser, former Poet Laureate (2004-2006), for offering this fine selection by this necessary poet.

About “The Quarrel, “Kooser comments in his introduction: “Elsewhere in this newspaper you may find some advice for maintaining and repairing troubled relationships. Here, in a poem by Linda Pastan of Maryland, is one of those relationships in need of some help.” This comment could have been better focused, but it, nevertheless, gives a peep into the theme of the poem.

The following lines comprise the first verse paragraph of the poem, “The Quarrel":

If there were a monument

to silence, it would not be

the tree whose leaves

murmur continuously

among themselves

To read the entire poem, please see American Life in Poetry: Column 149.

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