Common Wealth: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania

by Marjorie Maddox (Editor), Jerry Wemple (Editor), Gabriel Welsch (Contributor)

Over the years, Pennsylvania has been graced with an abundance of writers whose work draws imaginatively on the state's history and culture. Common Wealth sings the essence of Pennsylvania through contemporary poetry. Whether Pennsylvania is their point of origin or their destination, the featured poets ultimately find what matters: heritage, pride, work, inventiveness, struggle, faith, beauty, hope.

Keystone poets Marjorie Maddox and Jerry Wemple celebrate Pennsylvania with this wide range of new and veteran poets, including former state poet Samuel Hazo, National Book Award winner Gerald Stern, Pulitzer Prize winners Maxine Kumin, W. S. Merwin, and W. D. Snodgrass, and Reading-born master John Updike. The book's 103 poets also include such noted authors as Diane Ackerman, Maggie Anderson, Jan Beatty, Robin Becker, Jim Daniels, Toi Derricotte, Gary Fincke, Harry Humes, Julia Kasdorf, Ed Ochester, Jay Parini, Len Roberts, Sonia Sanchez, Betsy Sholl, and Judith Vollmer.

In these pages, poems sketch the landscapes and cultural terrain of the state, delving into the history, traditions, and people of Philadelphia, "Dutch" country, the coal-mining region, the Poconos, and the Lehigh Valley; the Three Rivers region; the Laurel Highlands; and Erie and the Allegheny National Forest. Theirs is a complex narrative cultivated for centuries in coal mines, kitchens, elevated trains, and hometowns, a tale that illuminates the sanctity of the commonplace--the daily chores of a Mennonite housewife, a polka dance in Coaldale, the late shift at a steel factory, the macadam of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. With its panoramic vision of Pennsylvania, its culture, and its thriving literary heritage, Common Wealth is a collection of remembrance for a state that continues to inspire countless contributions to American literature.

Genres: Poetry

270 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2005

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice collection of poems celebrating my home state of Pennsylvania.

Here are odes to all the things that make this a great place to live - county fairs, lovely landscapes, wildlife, fly fishin' in the many rivers.
And a few of the things we're not too proud of - the Centralia mine fire, racism, poverty, and Three Mile Island.

Here is an excerpt from one of the best offerings, a poem about the September 11th crash of Flight 93 in a farmer's field near Shanksville:

Pennsylvania September: The Witnesses
 
by Marjorie Maddox
______________________________________________

I WATCH A MOTHER AT THE YEAR MEMORIAL

Even now, the hills lie
too beautifully below the sky,
fabricate disbelief.
How can the wren sing?

Piles of trinkets collapse
beneath new flags and plastic tulips,
messages scrawled to the dead
on portable toilets,
guardrails of makeshift parking lots.

"Such an ugly thing to happen
in this lovely place," she said,
turning to leave.

[Kitkat · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read it for my classes. I found some poems very boring and some that were interesting. I enjoyed the ones about the coal mines and town fairs. I found the town fairs relatable and brought back childhood memories. But I think if you don't live in Pennsylvania, then this book was not meant for you. Some of the poems felt like only people who knew the history of the state would get the poems. I wasn't really that into the book but there were some poems I liked.

[Jeffrey Bumiller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like any collection of poetry by various poets your gonna have your good stuff and your not so good stuff. I do have to hand it to the editors, Marjorie Maddox & Jerry Wemple for somehow making everything cohesive here. This collection makes Pennsylvania feel like one enormous organism. Some names you might recognize, W.D., Snodgrass, Sonia Sanchez, John Updike, Diane Ackerman, and a man who, for personal reasons, I will never ever read again: Gerald Stern.

[Mike Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up for its Pittsburgh section, which was fantastic. Gerald Stern and a few others in here had been recommended to me before and now I understand why. Absolutely amazing.