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How to Fly (in Ten Thousand Easy Lessons)
How to Fly (in Ten Thousand Easy Lessons): Poetry | Barbara Kingsolver
18 posts | 12 read | 16 to read
In this intimate collection, the beloved author of The Poisonwood Bible and more than a dozen other New York Times bestsellers, winner or finalist for the Pulitzer and countless other prizes, now trains her eye on the everyday and the metaphysical in poems that are smartly crafted, emotionally rich, and luminous. In her second poetry collection, Barbara Kingsolver offers reflections on the practical, the spiritual, and the wild. She begins with "how to" poems addressing everyday matters such as being hopeful, married, divorced; shearing a sheep; praying to unreliable gods; doing nothing at all; and of course, flying. Next come rafts of poems about making peace (or not) with the complicated bonds of friendship and family, and making peace (or not) with death, in the many ways it finds us. Some poems reflect on the redemptive powers of art and poetry itself; others consider where everything begins. Closing the book are poems that celebrate natural wonders--birdsong and ghost-flowers, ruthless ants, clever shellfish, coral reefs, deadly deserts, and thousand-year-old beech trees--all speaking to the daring project of belonging to an untamed world beyond ourselves. Altogether, these are poems about transcendence: finding breath and lightness in life and the everyday acts of living. It's all terribly easy and, as the title suggests, not entirely possible. Or at least, it is never quite finished.
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Soubhiville
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@UwannaPublishme you are so sweet! Thank you for the book, journal, bookmarks and stickers, and this adorable squishy soft creature Squishmallow! It arrived today and made me so warm and fuzzy. Thank you for thinking of me. (The kisses are out of reach of the fur-kids, I‘m enjoying those as well.)

It‘s been a very long time since I‘ve read poetry, I‘m looking forward to seeing what Kingsolver‘s is like!

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 💚💚💚 2mo
Yenya1954 You have an awesome group of friends ❣️❣️ 2mo
Hooked_on_books That green critter looks delightfully squishable! 😍 2mo
UwannaPublishme Hope your fur-kids won‘t mind another squishy reading companion over there. 😉💚 2mo
Jari-chan That Squishy Thingy is so cute! 😍😍 2mo
71 likes5 comments
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Thndrstd
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Pickpick

Better known for her novels, Kingsolver shows a talent for poetry in this engaging collection. As with her novels, she demonstrates a love of the natural world from her vantage point of Appalachia. But she also focuses her keen eye on friends, family, and the resonance of death. The book opens with a series of delightful "How to" poems (as in the title of the book). Recommended.

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Kristin_Reads
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Pickpick

📖 3-8-22 || My book of poetry for the month! ✅
I‘ve been reading Kingsolver since the early 90‘s and was interested to read her poetry.

PaperbackPirate What do you think so far? I love her writing! 2y
Kristin_Reads @PaperbackPirate I love her writing, too! The one about her mother‘s death was heartbreaking… 2y
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Nute
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Pickpick

Poetic by the shape and sound of the sentence thus becoming lyrical by construct. I fell in step quite easily with the rhythm of this work simply because I like fragmented thoughts and wildly creative sentence structure causing words to leap and tumble across the page. I like abstraction of thinking that somehow converges clearly on a universal truth or acknowledgment of a common happiness, pain or examination of existence.👇🏽

Nute She accomplishes that magnificently.
Who knew…Barbara Kingsolver…poet!
There is beauty here and I am richer for the discovery. However, there is a missing intensity and depth that is gained in the reading of poetry as the poet‘s words force the reader to search inward and come at the truths of ourselves with an exploration of the naked soul, and this world. Maybe this work was purposely not meant to achieve that specific outcome.👇🏽
2y
Nute But it does the other poetry thing quite nicely…the words roll around very lovely on your tongue and awaken a vivid imagery, the written sharing of her life‘s observances rouses an evocation of a myriad of emotions as so many of the described circumstances ring a sense of familiarity.
I will read more poetry by Barbara Kingsolver if she releases another collection. I suppose that supports a recommendation in and of itself.
2y
Nute #AuthorAMonth - January - Barbara Kingsolver 2y
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DrexEdit Great review! 👍 2y
Butterfinger Awesome review! Your words leap off the page too. 2y
DivineDiana I am almost finished this book, and am in awe of your eloquent praise! 👏🏻❤️👏🏻 (edited) 2y
Nute @DrexEdit Thank you, Diane!💕 2y
Nute @Butterfinger Thank you, Tammy!💕 2y
Nute @DivineDiana Thank you, Diana!💕 How did your reading experience turn out? 2y
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tdrosebud
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Pickpick

Featuring poems on many topics. I think my favorite one was called Hands of Trees. I listened to this on audio and discovered that for me, I should read poetry, not listen to it. I think I lost some of it when reading.
#pantone2022colorchallenge #aestheticallymatched @Clwojick #authoramonth @Soubhiville

Clwojick Brilliant matches!! 2y
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Bookwormjillk
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Pickpick

It‘s cold and rainy and this book was perfect for reading under a blanket. This was a solid four star book of poetry for me. I especially loved How to Lose That Stubborn Weight and How to be Hopeful. The poem about her mother‘s death punched me in the gut. #AuthorAMonth

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slategreyskies
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Pickpick

Ah, now this was a good way to spend part of my afternoon. I‘d been feeling blue, but there‘s something about poetry that‘s uplifting, even sometimes when the poems are melancholic. I quite thoroughly enjoyed reading these poems. Also, this was my first Barbara Kingsolver book. I like the way she writes poetry. I wonder if I‘d like her novels as much. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#poetry

SamanthaMarie I didn't even know she wrote poetry! Definitely interested. 😊 2y
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slategreyskies
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Up next!! #poetry :)

TheSpineView Ohhhh... poetry! 👍 2y
35 likes1 comment
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Scochrane26
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Pickpick

Poetry isn‘t my favorite, but Kingsolver is a favorite author. I did a zoom event for this book & finally bought it later because it‘s signed, & I had enjoyed the poems she read. I also bought a copy for a friend who loves both Kingsolver & poetry. This collection has poems about loss, nature, family, & family trips. There‘s one about knitting that made me think of a friend. I think most people would find something to enjoy about this book.

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Christine
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I love Barbara Kingsolver and love hearing her read her work aloud. This was great, and, like basically everything she writes, full of insights about relationships and choices and the natural world. 💚

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Copwithabook
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I am seriously behind if I want to meet my Goodreads goal of 100 books this year. So I‘m picking up some poetry! I was an English Major in undergrad with a serious love for Barbara Kingsolver so this collection is speaking to my soul.

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Scochrane26
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Going to my bookstore has become a mini-vacation lately. They were having a sale for their members today, so my sis & I went. It was warm enough to eat outside on the patio. I took a list but didn‘t have any luck finding those books. Instead, I bought some others, most I have thought about getting before but hadn‘t. The Kingsolver is signed. I also bought Mitch, Please, mainly to support the local author because Ky already re-elected the turtle.

BookishMarginalia Bookstore visits are the best! 3y
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cateeeoh
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I want to capture every page.

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Erinreadsthebooks
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“I‘m not there yet.” Kingsolver, you damn genius, you. 💯💜✊🤟

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Scochrane26
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I‘m not a big poetry fan, but I joined in on the Virtual tour because Kingsolver is a favorite author. She posted this on fb in case any of you want to join. She said she will try to read different poems each time from the new book.

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ReadingEnvy
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Reading Envy Podcast Episode 200

The Reading Envy Pub is crammed full of people who want to share their recent projects, where they go for book ideas, etc. Jenny talks about the last 199 episodes - where do guests come from, and how often? Which books has Jenny read lately but not managed to share about? And what about all those people? Please enjoy this bonus episode to celebrate 200.

Listen and subscribe
https://tinyurl.com/ReadingEnvy200

Cathythoughts 👍🏻😁 4y
vivastory Happy 200th episode, Jenny! 🎊🎉👏📚📚 4y
Ruthiella I hope no one had to call the fire marshal! 🤪 4y
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andrew61 That's a brilliant achievement jenny, im sure it takes a massive amount of work to provide so much listening pleasure. 4y
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick Congrats on the milestone! 4y
ReadingEnvy @Ruthiella I didn't hear, I mean I left early ... 4y
Reggie Congrats, Jenny! Also thanks for Millions tip. Went and got a book off the list earlier tonight. 4y
ReadingEnvy @Reggie I haven't fully absorbed the list for the second half of 2020 but will do so soon. Such a great resource. 4y
Centique Lovely episode and wonderful to hear your voice again @Reggie I checked out your booktuber reccs - they‘re great 😍 4y
33 likes10 comments
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ReadingEnvy
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Pickpick

This collection comes out in September but I couldn‘t wait! I didn‘t even realize Barbara Kingsolver wrote poetry. Look for “How to Survive This,” published in the New York Times in March, and you‘ll get a feeling for the poems in this book. Aging, living through, dying, the life around us, all perfect Kingsolver themes.

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WanderingBookaneer
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