Word of Mouth
Catherine Bowman
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Starting in 1995, NPR's <i>All Things Considered</i> began presenting poets reading their own works.  Introduced by "poetry DJ" Catherine Bowman, these popular short segments allowed listeners to experience poetry as a kind of verbal music, recalling its roots as a spoken art form.  <b>Word of Mouth</b>, edited by Bowman, brings together the poems that have been featured on NPR, providing a window onto the dynamic contemporary poetry scene. A child playing with flashes of sunlight in the aisle of an airplane; a woman describing tropical fruit to someone in a faraway country; a man building a deck with his dead father's hammer; the musings of a Barbie doll participating in a 12-step program: these poems powerfully and lyrically transform the stuff of every day life. A celebration of the poetic voice that includes 33 acclaimed writers, this vibrant anthology proves beyond any doubt that poetry is far more than just words on paper.<br><br>Quincy Troupe  -  Czeslaw Milosz ...</br></br>