June Jordan’s Poetry for the People: A Revolutionary Blueprint
This book blew the lid off my safe little world. I was finally exposed to political poetry, poetry by people of color, and poetry as community building. I used this book to inspire my own writing and as a textbook when I taught poetry classes. The video series from this book was fantastic.
It’s National Poetry Month! Can you believe that I got my start teaching writing with a class called Poetry Unbound? I was no great poet back in 1996, but I had a youthful enthusiasm and brio that made me want to teach. I used to jump up onto the counter at Capitol Hill Books and recite poetry. I even set myself up in the window to write poems on demand, and have done this on the streets of Denver.
Armed with Mary Oliver’s A Poetry Handbook, I met with my students and encouraged them to find their poetic voice. This book goes way beyond a dry text on poetry. It’s infused with Oliver’s classic voice and deep passion for language.
If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland
This book was first published in 1938 and it’s just as fresh and relevant as it was then. “Everybody is talented, original and has something to say,” Brenda writes. This kind of generosity and straight-talking makes this book a timeless classic. Her words fuels my belief that if you want to write, you have to follow that impulse.
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
As a young writer, I was always looking for advice on how to get my words out. This gem of a book is a classic for writers who need to get over themselves and get to the writing. Lamott’s voice is absolutely inviting and inspiring. She’s one of those bold, heartfelt and real writers who make you want to drop the book and get to your own writing. Bird by Bird is a must-have if you want to be emboldened to just start writing now.
Sylvia Beach and the Lost Generation by Noel Riley Fitch
It was 1993, and I was working at Capitol Hill Books in Denver. The cool thing about a second-hand bookshop is that any random book can come in and change your life. One day, this book came in. I was in my twenties, clueless about what to do with my life and yearning for adventure.
This biography of Sylvia Beach enthralled me. I decided I would be just like her, living in Paris, running a bookshop and loving life with the literati.
Well, that didn’t happen, but she inspired me to write a novel, Chasing Sylvia Beach. Sylvia Beach and the Lost Generation is a great read about a great American heroine.
