NPM 50 State Tour: I Love New York

I do love New York. In the NJ town where I grew up, you could see the Manhattan skyline sitting in the distance like a Medieval fortress.

And here is an old post about the beautiful Catskill Mountain area, where we visit every summer. This is my brother and my son watching a thunderstorm move through the Hudson Valley.

New York became a state on July 26, 1788 -- so it shares a birthday with my Bronx-born father.

But I also love New York because unlike some places, the Empire State has a poet laureate.

Jean Valentine has taught at several New York colleges, universities and wonderful writing programs. She's a Guggenheim Fellowship winner. I've enjoyed reading her short, evocative poems during this visit. Valentine doesn't explicate her images, so you have to sit with them and savor the taste.

Little Map

by Jean Valentine

 

The white pine

the deer coming closer

the ant

in my bowl

—where did she go

when I brushed her out?

The candle

—where does it go? 

The rest of the poem is at the Poetry Foundation.

Speaking of savoring tastes, if you're not doing anything in September, head to New York for the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival. I wonder whether they'll have any of that black garlic the foodies are hot for lately.

We're driving back down the East Coast to North Carolina next on our National Poetry Month tour. Want to know why it's called the Tar Heel State? Read this!