A Mind Like This

Winner of the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry, Susan Blackwell Ramsey's A Mind Like Thisis a work of humor and wit, unexpectedly delightful and full of surprises as it reflects on the oddness of everyday life, the natural world, literary history, popular culture, and more. Everything is fair game for Ramsey, who finds poetry in love and sickness and life, of course, but also in knitting and unreliable bladders and the peculiar name of Kalamazoo. Neruda makes an appearance, as do Eric Clapton and Brahms, Leonard and Virginia Woolf, and Jimmy Stewart. Whether observing the pickled heads of Peter the Great's offenders, wondering "How to Seduce Henry David Thoreau," becoming the insecure voice of Kalamazoo, or puzzling over the intricacies of the mind that blocks a dear friend's birthday while preserving the name of Emily Dickinson's dog in perpetuity, Ramsey's collection is wise and funny, allusive and deeply felt.

Susan Blackwell Ramsey is an instructor at Kalamazoo Institute of Art. She won the Marjorie J. Wilson Award from Margie: The Journal for American Poetry and her poem "Pickled Heads, St. Petersburg" was chosen for the 2009 edition of Best American Poetry.

Source Acknowledgments	p. xii
A Mind Like This	p. 1
Pickled Heads: St. Petersburg	p. 3
Louise Erdrich Learning Ojibiwemowin	p. 5
Tell Me If You've Heard This One	p. 7
Kalamazoo Decides She Likes Her Name	p. 9
"And All Trades, Their Gear and Tackle and Trim"	p. 10
Boliche	p. 11
Peripheral: Emerson, 1847	p. 13
Knitting Lace	p. 15
The Due de Saint-Simon Buys Lady Murasaki a Drink	p. 17
January, Tulips	p. 18
Gaudeamus, Full Band Version	p. 19
A Mind Like This	p. 21
The Comfort of Pickup Trucks	p. 23
Why I Hate Storytellers	p. 24
Aftereffects of Bell's Palsy	p. 25
Ode to My Bladder	p. 26
Outside Interests	p. 28
Learning Curves	p. 30
Mount St. Helen's, May 18, 1980	p. 32
Sexing the Alligator	p. 35
The Sword	p. 37
Mariah Educates the Sensitive	p. 39
Crocheting Chaos	p. 42
Children in Church	p. 44
Beads	p. 45
The Kalamazoo Mastodon	p. 46
I'm in Love with Leonard Woolf	p. 47
In Order to Swallow, a Frog Has to Close Its Eyes	p. 49
Neruda in Kalamazoo	p. 51
Deadheading with Kellee	p. 52
Valentine's Day in Kalamazoo	p. 54
Taking Jimmy Stewart to Bed	p. 55
The Year Hits Perimenopause	p. 56
Sow's Ear	p. 57
Lilium Orientale	p. 58
How to Seduce Henry David Thoreau	p. 60
To a Picky Eater at Love's Table	p. 62
August	p. 63
Letter to Matt on the Opening Day of Deer Season	p. 64
Stalling	p. 66
Amplification	p. 68
Sexing the Alligator	p. 69
The Genome for Luck	p. 70
Lidian Emerson Watches Her House Burn, Concord, July 23, 1872	p. 71
Pattern and Ground	p. 73
Consider Hairs	p. 75
Emerson's Eyes	p. 77
The Only Other Female in the House	p. 79
Egg Tempera Painting, Koo Schadler, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts	p. 80
The Tuesday before Our Friday Visit	p. 81
Afterthought	p. 82
Meeting Edward Lear in Heaven	p. 83
Elegy from Halfway Up the Drive	p. 84
Our Third Wedding Reception This Year Hits Its Stride	p. 86
Pattern and Ground	p. 87
Washing My Husband's Kilt Hose: A 32-Bar Reel	p. 89
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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