Gulf of Maine Books (134 Maine St., Brunswick) will host poet James Lenfesty, reading from his new book “Time Remaining – body odes, praise songs, oddities, amazements” just published by Milkweed Editions, at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18. This free event is open to the public.
Lenfesty is the author of multiple books and essays, including the nonfiction title “Seeking the Cave – a Pilgrimage to Cold Mountain,” which recounts his journey to China in search of the spirit of T’Ang Dynasty poet Han Shan. Another of his titles is “A Cartload of Scrolls,” a collection of 100 poems written in the manner of Han Shan. He is also co-editor of “Robert Bly in This World,” “If Bees Are Few – a Hive of Bee Poems” and “The Uncommon Speech of Paradise – Poems on the Art of Poetry.”
The poet Wang Ping says of “Time Remaining”: “What a marvelous collection of joy, generosity and wisdom! Lenfesty devoted his life to freeing poetry fossilized by daily grimes, to letting language sing and dance again so we can have a glimpse of beauty and love. He succeeded greatly.”
Here is a poem from the new book:
“Tour of Kindness”
It was a dream, of course,
a tour bus coming from somewhere
to where we were, you and me, waiting,
expectant for the band, or troupe, coming from
a great distance, our anticipation, what it might be,
what it could mean, what was hoped for,
the need to name it.
And as I awoke in the fluttering before certainty,
beneath the troubled surface of the day,
the name came to me, all I remember:
“Tour of Kindness”
Now I am waiting, we are all waiting,
wondering when it will arrive,
and what it can mean