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Book World: Words of wisdom or wishful thinking? The problem with new books that aim to heal us.
Mark Athitakis, The Washington Post
April 14, 2021
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Edited by James Crews
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The Polish poet Adam Zagajewski, who died March 21, wasn t a household name. But there s a decent chance you know one of his poems. And if you lived through 2020, you have a bone-deep understanding of the mood it evoked.
In Try to Praise the Mutilated World, Zagajewski summoned the urge to sound a note of positivity amid death and chaos: you ve seen the refugees going nowhere, / you ve heard the executioners sing joyfully. / You should praise the mutilated world. The bittersweet poem circulated widely after 9/11. The New Yorker printed it on the back page of its first issue after the attacks, where it sat, alone, somber as a tombstone but surrounded by enough white space to feel something like hope.
Community Bulletin Board: the Suburban (for April 14) centraljersey.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from centraljersey.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Community Bulletin Board: Criterion Sentinel (for April 14)
The Arts Institute of Middlesex County is presenting a multitude of arts and culture events throughout April, primarily centered around National Poetry Month.
Highlights include:
April 14 at 4 p.m. – Explore a folk story told in poetic verse and in two languages through vivid prints in this reading of “The Snow and the Sun,” written and illustrated by Antonio Frasconi. After the reading, experiment with engraving to create multiple prints of your own.
April 21 at 4 p.m. – Explore the real-life story of the Puerto Rican-American pediatrician and New Jersey-based poet William Carlos Williams as told through multimedia illustrations. Let the images and words inspire you to create your own poems and collages from a variety of your own found papers and other materials.
Community Bulletin Board: the North and South Brunswick Sentinel (for April 14) centraljersey.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from centraljersey.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.