How We Spent Our Time

By Vern Rutsala

Publication Year: 2006

Nearly every poem in How We Spent Our Time flies at its mast a title in the form of a gerund or gerund phrase, that humble verbal noun. The book's table of contents, therefore, reads like an equally humble enumeration of the ways a human lifetime can be paid out, so to speak: looking, getting, owning, learning. We all do them all. And yet there is exceptional artistry in the testimonials these doings make witness to. The arrangement of the poems within the text is part of it. Note how "keeping" immediately precedes "spending," in the poems "Keeping It Together" and "Spending the Night"; these poems are conversational but endlessly skilful in the ways they keep the language vivid and fresh and surprising. How We Spent Our Time is flush with pangs and satisfactions, abundant with wisdom and delight.

Published by: The University of Akron Press

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A native of the Pacific Northwest, Vern Rutsala received his B.A. from Reed College and his M.F.A. from the University of Iowa. He is the author of numerous poetry books. His previous book, The Moment’s Equation,was a finalist for the National Book Award in poetry ...

E-ISBN-13: 9781935603887
E-ISBN-10: 1935603884
Print-ISBN-13: 9781931968287
Print-ISBN-10: 1931968284

Page Count: 72
Publication Year: 2006

Series Title: Akron Series in Poetry
Series Editor Byline: Elton Glaser, Editor

How We Spent Our Time

Cover

TItle page, Copyright

Contents

Departing, Arriving . . .

Looking for Work

Getting and Spending

Letting Things Slide

Dreaming of Journeys

Becoming American

Going to England

Taking Pictures

Writing to the Past

Talking to Strangers

Living Somewhere Else

Sleeping for a Year

Making a Living

Owning Things

Making Lists

Taking Shelter

Coming Home

Learning Your Lesson

Reclaiming the House

Driving North

Keeping It Together

Spending the Night

Learning to Draw

Killing Time

Calling Up the Pain

Taking the Old Road

Moon Driving

Disappearing

Remaking Yourself

Missing It

Killing Flies in Georgia

Listening to a Russian Choir

Getting Out of the Army

Camping with Ecclesiastes

Travelling One Way

About the Author

Research Areas

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