[PW] Missing poem, missing poet

[Burton, Donna]

Some negatives: She's not listed in Literature Online, MLA Bibliography or Biography and Genealogy Master Index. 
 
I did find she'd been awarded something called the Hopwood Prize in 1978, no other real info except on Hopwood: http://www.vpcomm.umich.edu/hopwood/
 
There's another poem by her called "Truer Gifts" in Google Books: http://tinyurl.com/3bkm6d
 
Donna Burton
Schaffer Library, Union College
Schenectady, NY 12308
burtond at union.edu
 

________________________________

From: project-wombat-open-bounces at lists.project-wombat.org on behalf of Jeannette Cézanne
Sent: Fri 2/8/2008 3:32 PM
To: list at project-wombat.org
Subject: [PW] Missing poem, missing poet



Many years ago in a waiting room I came across a poem in The New 
Yorker, which I proceeded to copy out for my own use. It was written 
by someone called Lisa Leafstrand. I've been trying to find out more 
about the poet, whether she has other material available, and even 
possibly some reprint rights for this poem.

I'm copying the whole of the poem below. Any information about it or 
the poet would be greatly appreciated.

************

Icon: Saint Macarius beside his island monastery of Unzen, leaving 
England

The roses are dead in the sun;
crusted stalks hang in the heat, undone
by the ache at the end of things

the edges of bells striking the evening
this empty room and the Oxford moon
flat through the glass. It cannot last

the rose incense of summer
and the green, worn corners behind facades
the gods of grey churches,

the cloisters and the graves,
must brood among the weeds and tangled stones
Home is far and fearfully drawing nearer,

hardly ready to receive such explicit
portraits of kings and ruined abbeys
or pictures of this place when it was full

and fair, and eased the morning through the curtain folds
spires trembled to meet the air,
thick with the abrupt smell of rain.

The pain is forgetting the colour of roses
in the wet wind, when they have been twisted
too soon by the sun.

  --- Lisa Leafstrand

***********

Many thanks!

Jeannette
***
Jeannette Cezanne, enriching readers' lives
... one book at a time.
http://www.JeannetteCezanne.com <http://www.jeannettecezanne.com/> 
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