“In I Praise My Destroyer, Diane Ackerman demonstrates once again her love for the specific language that rises from the juncture of self and the natural world, and her skillful use of that language. Whether she turns her attention to the act of eating an apricot 'the color of shame and dawn,' or to 'the omnipotence of light,' or to grief when 'All the greens of summer have blown apart,' her linking of unique images, her energetic wit and whimsy, her compassionate investment in life, always bring new pleasures and perceptions to the reader.” WorldSelfUseLightTurnsLanguageNaturalPleasureGriefAttentionColorReaderPerceptionEatingSummerUniquePraiseShameInvestmentWitDawnCompassionateNatural WorldEnergeticSkillfulDestroyersOmnipotenceWhimsyJunctureApricots Author:Pattiann Rogers
“From the beginning I felt that I didn't ever want to leave the impression that the process of writing a poem is totally mysterious. I couldn't explain everything that went on in the creation of a poem, but I could try to explain as much as I knew. I thought readers deserved that. I didn't want to set myself apart as being someone special.” WantWritingTryingFeltProcessSpecialCreationReaderImpressionMysteriousSpecial Someone Author:Pattiann Rogers
“Ordering is very important with essays, even if a reader doesn't read the essays or the poems in order through the book...” IfsImportantBookOrderReaderEssays Author:Pattiann Rogers
