Wilderness
You are the man
And I find it hard going
You are the prickly pear
You are the sudden violent storm
The torrent to raise the river
to float the wounded doe
I discovered her on a poster on a bus. Part of the Poetry in Motion campaign sponsored by the Poetry Society of America and the MTA. Had I walked or driven, I would have never heard of her. And never fallen in love with this poem.
I was the solitary plover
From the secret notes
Upon the pressure
Execute and adjust
We live by the urgent wave of the verse
She endured penury and isolation. Though she achieved some acclaim on the literary fringe, she had a hard life and her work, published by small presses, reached only a limited audience before her death in 1970. Her work was austere, free of all ornament, relying on the fundamental rhythms of concise statement, and to many readers it must have seemed strange and bare.
michèle voltaire marcelin
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Michèle Voltaire Marcelin is a poet/writer, performer and painter who was born and raised in Haiti, sojourned in Chile, and currently lives in the United States. The publication of her first novel “La Désenchantée” (CIDIHCA, Montréal-2006) was followed by its Spanish translation “La Desencantada” and two other books of poetry and prose: “Lost and Found” and “Amours et Bagatelles” (CIDIHCA, Montréal-2009) - translated into Spanish by Editorial ALBA as "Amores y cosas sin importancia" - all of which garnered rave reviews. Her writings are also featured in 3 anthologies published in France: "Cahier Haiti" (published by RAL'M-2009), "Terre de Femmes" (Editions Bruno Doucey-2011) "Revue Intranqu'îllités" (2012). She speaks and writes fluently French, English, Spanish and Haitian Creole. She has a BFA from the Leonard Davis Center for the Performing Arts at CUNY and a Masters from The New School for Social Research.
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