Calendars

by Annie Finch

Annie Finch's wide reputation precedes her. Her first full book of poems attracted the notice and glowing approval of Robert Pinsky, Carolyn Kizer, the Bloomsbury Review and the Washington Times . Her poems are resonating, musical celebrations of life. Through mastery of rhythm and poetic patterning, this wonderfully gifted poet liberates and illuminates the sacred in the mundane, and gives voice to the earth-centered spirituality of our era.

Genres: Poetry

70 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2003

About the author

Annie Finch is the author of six books of poetry, including Spells: New and Selected Poems, The Poetry Witch Little Book of Spells, Calendars and Eve (both finalists for the National Poetry Series), and the verse play Among the Goddesses: An Epic Libretto in Seven Dreams (Sarasvati Award, 2012). Her poems have appeared onstage at Carnegie Hall and in The Penguin Book of Twentieth-Century American Poetry. Her other works include poetry translation, poetics, poetry anthologies, and a poetry textbook. She is also the editor of Choice Words: Writers on Abortion (Haymarket Books, 2020). Annie Finch holds a Ph.D from Stanford, served for a decade as Director of the Stonecoast MFA Program in Creative Writing, and has lectured on poetry at Berkeley, Toronto, Harvard, and Oxford. In 2010 she was awarded the Robert Fitzgerald Award for her lifetime contribution to the art and craft of Versification. Finch has collaborated on poetic ritual theater productions with artists in theater, dance, and music and has performed as Poetry Witch on three continents. She teaches poetry and magic at PoetryWitchCommunity.org. 

“My poems harness the magically diverse and deeply rooted craft of poetic rhythms and forms. Like spells, they enjoy being spoken aloud three times." —Annie Finch

Annie on Twitter @poetrywitch
Annie on Instagram @thepoetrywitch

Annie connects with readers and facilitates seasonal rituals and classes in poetry and meter in her online community,
PoetryWitchCommunity.org, open to all who identify as women or gender-nonconforming.

Want more info? Updates, videos, poems, spells, spellsletter signup, and more at anniefinch.net

Blessings to all my beautiful readers!

Reviews

[Burgi Zenhaeusern · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is something to be said for reading formal poetry, especially when it comes at the hands of a skillful and inspired poet as Annie Finch. There is so much to learn from the poems in Calendars and so much to enjoy. I love the run-on sentences, braided phrasing, rhymes of all sorts, the liberties taken. I love the poems' connectedness to earth/soil and its creatures, the elements, especially water, the sky, the body.

[Tad Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Annie Finch just added to my friend list, and one of Goodreads' premier authors, I'm adding a couple of her books to my list, even though I mostly focus on what I'm reading now.



Here's my complete review of Calendars:



http://jacketmagazine.com/26/rich-finch....

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I became interested in reading more of Annie Finch’s work after coming upon her interview in the Winter 2023 issue of Rattle . I didn’t enjoy this book as much as Eve (1997), less due to the quality of the poetry and more to do with the painfully small font size that the graphic designer chose. The text appears to be sized at 8 or 9, whereas most books use 10-12. Perhaps this was the most aesthetically pleasing choice - such as for ensuring that all the short poems could fit on one page - but it made the reading itself a chore for me. It’s a shame because Finch has a powerful way with words.

Some quotes:
*

When they sang to be free,
you captured those quick birds relentlessly
and kept a slow, sure mercy in your deeds,
leaving them room to peck and hunt their seeds
in the white cages your vast iron art
had made by moving books, and lives, and creeds.
I take from you as you take me apart.
(From “Letter for Emily Dickinson”, p. 6).

*

We wait outside time, while night collects courage
around us. The vigil is wordless. And you

watch the longest, move the farthest, besieged by your breath,
pulling into your body. You stare towards your death,
head arched on the pillow, your left fingers curled.
Your mouth sucking gently, unmoved by these hours
and their vigil of salt spray, you show us how far
you are going, and how long the long minutes are,
while spiraling night watches over the room
and takes you, until you watch us in turn.
(From “Elegy For My Father,” pp. 14-15)

*

I had a woman’s tears, and a woman’s teeth
that could not bite, although the ruddy wreath
of my soft lips was closing. And my heart
crawled like a serpent. And that is the part
you married, Lycius, when you made the sun
shine over my damp earth, and grew with me to one
(“Lamia to Lycius,” p. 38)

*
My night holds everything except for sleep
(“Earth Goddess and Sky God” p. 64)
*

**


Citation:
Finch, A. (2003). Calendars. Tupelo Press. https://anniefinch.com/calendars/

Title: Calendars
Author(s): Annie Finch
Year: 2003
Genre: Poetry
Page count: 70 pages
Date(s) read: 3/6/24
Book #59 in 2024
**

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had the distinct idea reading this book that I was missing the point somehow. There were moments of images that made me pause, but the rhythm that the author was clearly trying to evoke never quite solidified for me. If I knew more about poetry, if I understood better the conversations these poems are having, I think I'd have liked them. Even loved some of them. As it was, they felt inaccessible to this relatively unschooled poetry reader.

I read some of these out loud with my daughter, who's final statement was, "Maybe you should get a different book of poems that are less dark." I think that about sums up my reading experience with these poems.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't find a single poem especially memorable. Meh.

[Sherry Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is my review of Calendars: http://sherrychandler.com/2009/06/27/...