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Published on Sunday, Apr 20, 2008
Two themes flow through the Big Muddy River of Stars, a collection of poetry by Alison Pelegrin, winner of the 2006 Akron Poetry Prize.
First is her fanciful relationship with Li Po, the eighth-century Chinese poet, famous for his inebriation as well as his verse. In one poem, the Louisiana-based Pelegrin invites Li Po to a honky-tonk but warns him to wear an orange vest, lest a bowhunter shoot him while ''sleeping off pink zinfandel in the palmettos.'' In another, Breaking Curfew With the Ancient Chinese Poet, the narrator concocts an illicit traipse through the French Quarter.
The other theme, inevitably it seems, is Katrina. Pelegrin writes of a neighborhood of government-issue FEMA Trailers, Moonlit Night, and curses the thief who stole her brother's ladder and wheelbarrow. In other poems, she praises the contractors who showed up, though they soaked their brushes in her good roasting pan, and the lady at a coin laundry who buys the weary Pelegrin a snack.
Big Muddy River of Stars (71 pages, softcover) is part of the Akron Series in Poetry from the University of Akron Press, http://www.uakron.edu/uapress. It costs $14.95. Pelegrin is an instructor at Southeastern Louisiana University.
Pelegrin will read from Big Muddy River of Stars to begin the New Words 2008 poetry event, which will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. today at the Akron Art Museum, 1 S. High St. After Pelegrin's reading, the eight finalists for the 2008 prize will read their award-winning poems, Pelegrin will sign her book and a reception will be held. The event is free.
Footnotes
• Meet Beacon Journal editorial cartoonist Chip Bok at 7 p.m. Monday at Sumner on Ridgewood, 970 Sumner Parkway, Copley Township, as he takes part in the retirement community's Mini Mondays author series, signing The Recent History of the United States in Political Cartoons. Refreshments will be served. Reserve a spot by calling 330-664-1289.
• Baseball hall of famer Cal Ripken Jr. will sign Get in the Game: 8 Elements of Perseverance That Make the Difference on Monday at Joseph-Beth Booksellers at Legacy Village in Lyndhurst. On Tuesday, Cleveland Clinic plastic surgeon Maria Siemionow will sign Transplanting a Face: Notes on a Life of Medicine. Both events are at 7 p.m.
• The Akron-Summit County Public Library continues its Main Event speaker series with An Evening with Carl Hiaasen at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Read more about this event on Page E1.
• Hudson writer Stefanie Wass has contributed three stories to two new Chicken Soup for the Soul books — Love Stories and A Tribute to Moms — and will be honored Friday at the Learned Owl Book Shop as part of its Friday Fresh Voices series. The program is from 7 to 8 p.m. The shop is at 204 N. Main St., Hudson.
— Barbara McIntyre
Special to the Beacon Journal
Send information about books of local interest to Lynne Sherwin, Features Department, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309 or lsherwin@thebeaconjournal.com. Event notices should be sent at least two weeks in advance.
Two themes flow through the Big Muddy River of Stars, a collection of poetry by Alison Pelegrin, winner of the 2006 Akron Poetry Prize.
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