Treasuring Poetry: Meet author and poet, Elizabeth Gauffreau and a book review #poetrycommunity #bookreview #TreasuringPoetry

Posted: August 21, 2024 | Author: robbiesinspiration | Filed under: Book Review, Interview, Poetry, Review, Treasuring Poetry | Tags: Elizabeth Gauffreau, Interview, Poetry, Reviews, Simple Pleasures, Treasuring Poetry, Writing to be Read | 102 Comments

Today, I am delighted to welcome talented poet and author, Elizabeth Gauffreau, as my Treasuring Poetry guest.

What is your favourite style of poetry to read i.e. haiku, ballad, epic, freestyle, etc?

My favorite style of poetry to read is free verse, although recently I’ve become quite taken with the duplex and the pantoum. I also enjoy reading persona poems, such as T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” which has been a long-time favorite of mine. In addition, I enjoy narrative poems such as George Franklin’s Angel of Sorrow poems. (Travels of the Angel of Sorrow and What the Angel Saw, What the Saint Refused)

What is your favourite poem in your favourite style to read?

Because I’ve been reading more poetry collections in the past several years than I ever have before, it’s hard to pick just one favorite poem. I’m going to go with Patricia Smith’s “Now He’s an Etching.”

The poem is written in iambic pentameter, which is definitely not my favorite poetry form. However, Smith uses it so skillfully, I didn’t even notice the meter until someone pointed it out to me.

I strongly encourage readers to listen to Smith read the poem herself to get the full experience of it. https://poets.org/poem/now-hes-etching  (Click on the blue speaker icon on the right side of the screen.)

Now He’s an Etching

of the sluggish, coolly vengeful way

a southern body falters. Muscles whine 

with toiling, browning teeth go tilt and splay,

then tremulous and gone. The serpentine

and slapdash landscape of his mouth is maze

for blue until the heart—so sparsely blessed,

lethargic in its fatty cloak—OKs

that surge of Tallahatchie through his chest,

and Lordy, hear that awful moan unlatch?

Behind the mic, he’s drowning in that great        

migration uniform of sharkskin patched

with prayer and dust. His cramped feet palpitate

in alligator kickers, needle-toed,

so tight he feels the thudding blood, so tight

they make it way too easy to unload

his woe. The drunken drummer misses right

on time, the speakers sputter static, but

our bluesman gravels anyhow—The moon

won’t even rise for me tonight / now what’s

a brokedown man gon’ do? That wretched croon

delights the urban wanderers, intent

on loving on this perfect underwhelm

of Negro, jinxed and catastrophic, bent

into his hurting halves. Inside the realm

of pain as pageant, woozy revelers raise

their plastic cups of fizz and watered rye

to toast the warbler of decay, whose dazed

and dwindling lyric craves its moonlit sky.

“Now He’s an Etching” made such an impression on me that I actually sent a “fan girl” message to Patricia Smith (to which she responded graciously with “thank you”). Then I wrote a puente in response to her poem. (I’ve sent it out to literary magazines in hopes of getting it published.)

I would be remiss if I didn’t include Smith’s commentary on her poem:

About this Poem

“I mourn the elders. I mourn the black  bluesmen and women who could only move sanely through their hours with the help of heartbreak. I miss their stout southern stature, bodies  resolute with a recollected woe. I ache for the gut gravel of lyric, the  knowledge that my crooner is truly suffering, and that she or he has  decided to allow us to suffer too. But many of the elders still with us  have become millennial playthings, one of the many ‘woke’ things to  sample and add to the cultural resume. Hopefully, this poem springs from  that space.”

—Patricia Smith

Your new poetry book, Simple Pleasures, comprises of haiku. Is that your favourite form of poetry? Why?

No, it isn’t. My go-to is free verse.  In this instance, though, haiku was the best form to convey the experiences I wanted to share with readers.

What is your favourite of your poems in Simple Pleasures?

I’m going to go with this one because it was inspired by the Green Mountains of Vermont, which is where my heart is.

back in the valley

peeling fence to lean on

Green Mountains steadfast

Tell us a bit about Simple Pleasures. What inspired the book? How did you choose the title and cover?

My husband and I were on a scenic drive to escape the awful mess the world is in, and a haiku just popped into my head. So I wrote it down (fiddled with it, of course) and took a picture of the scene which inspired it. My husband and I had fun going on the hunt for the wild haiku together, so we kept at it for a year, until I had enough poems and photographs for a collection and had covered all four seasons. Now that the book is finished, I miss those hunts!

The title Simple Pleasures refers to the simple pleasures of life, which never fail to restore my equilibrium in difficult times. The subtitle, Haiku from the Place Just Right, refers to the Shaker hymn “Simple Gifts,” which was part of my childhood, probably from church camp. Simple pleasures and simple gifts are synonymous to me, so the title and the subtitle seemed just right!

As far as the cover went, I wanted something that would show up clearly in an online thumbnail, which is why I went with a saturated color for the background. The branch of flowering crabapple spoke to me as having a haiku feel to it in its simplicity.

My review of Simple Pleasures: Haiku from the Place Just Right

Simple Pleasures is a collection of delightful haiku written about a variety of different places that have moved the poet to write due to their beauty, family connection, or historical meaning. Each poem is accompanied by a gorgeous colour photograph (I read the ebook). As a South African, I found this book to be a wonderful visual and literary tour of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

One of my favourite poems in the collection is as follows:
“grey heavens, grey sea
goldenrod out of context
lighthouse bears witness”

This short collection of 53 poems will fill your heart with joy.

Purchase Simple Pleasures: Haiku from the Place Just Right from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Pleasures-Haiku-Place-Right-ebook/dp/B0D6P8SXYY

About Elizabeth Gauffreau

Elizabeth Gauffreau writes fiction and poetry with a strong connection to family and place. Her work has been widely published in literary magazines, as well as several themed anthologies. Her short story “Henrietta’s Saving Grace” was awarded the 2022 Ben Nyberg prize for fiction by Choeofpleirn Press.

Liz has published a novel, TELLING SONNY: THE STORY OF A GIRL WHO LOVED THE VAUDEVILLE SHOW, and a collection of photopoetry, GRIEF SONGS: POEMS OF LOVE & REMEMBRANCE. Her latest release is also photopoetry: SIMPLE PLEASURES:HAIKU FROM THE PLACE JUST RIGHT. She is currently working on a novel, THE WEIGHT OF SNOW AND REGRET, based on the closing of the last poor farm in Vermont in 1968.

Liz’s professional background is in nontraditional higher education, including academic advising, classroom and online teaching, curriculum development, and program administration. She received the Granite State College Distinguished Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2018.

Liz lives in Nottingham, New Hampshire with her husband.

About Robbie Cheadle

South African author and illustrator, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated sixteen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, and written and illustrated three poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.

Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/

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This segment of “Treasuring Poetry” is sponsored by WordCrafter Press and the Poetry Treasures series.

Poetry Treasures: https://books2read.com/PoetryTreasures

Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships: https://books2read.com/PT2-Relationships

Poetry Treasures 3: Passions: https://books2read.com/u/b5qnBR

Poetry Treasures 4:In Touch With Nature: https://books2read.com/PT4-Nature

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