Madness, Rack, & Honey

Madness, rack, and honey : collected lectures. Mary Ruefle. 326 pages.

 

 

      The title of this book caught my eye when I was looking up lists of poetry books on Goodreads. The book turned out to be something I want to have in my own personal library at home.  Mary Ruefle is an accomplished American poet who teaches and is sometimes required to give lectures although she dislikes public speaking.  Her solution to this problem is to read these lectures straight off the page. 

       The most surprising thing about this book is that while it concerns itself with poetry, it isn't always about poetry. It is a book that is about the creative mind of ideas, notions, ways to think about poetry, writing, living.  It is not another dry instructional book about how to write poetry, which is a gift to a world over saturated with such things.  Read it. Lovely in ways I have a hard time trying to describe.