RECESSION PURCHASING

I recently realized how few poetry-related titles I bought in all of last year; I cutnpaste my 2009 "Bought Poetry List" below: a mere 36 titles. I could say "Great Recession", but it's more that I get most of my poetry books from other sources (gifts, trades, etc.) than through purchasing. That I have huge access to poetry's "gift economy" actually makes me more conscious -- or I try to be -- of buying books, but I don't think 2009 was a good result (particularly when the list is so stacked for my own titles-sheesh). Self-awareness: it's a good thing! I shall try to do better. Meanwhile, Dear Blog File, here are the poetry titles (either poetry collections or other works by poets) I bought last year:

2009 PURCHASED POETRY TITLES:

THE SUBURBAN ECSTASIES by Seth Abramson

FRAGILE REPLACEMENTS by William Allegrezza

CHRISTMAS POEM (book & CD) by Maya Angelou

KALI'S BLADE by Michelle Bautista

1000 VIEWS OF GIRL SINGING, Ed. John Bloomberg-Rissman

AT THE PULSE by Laura Carter

RHAPSODY IN PLAIN YELLOW by Marilyn Chin

FOR GIRLS & OTHERS by Shanna Compton

SELECTED POEMS 1956-1975 by Diane di Prima

KA-CHING! by Denise Duhamel

WORLD BALL NOTEBOOK by Sesshu Foster

DELIVERED by Sarah Gambito

POEM, HOME: AN ANTHOLOGY OF ARS POETICA, Eds. Jennifer Hill and Dan Waber

VANITAS literary/arts journal, Ed. Vincent Katz

MAID OF HEAVEN: THE STORY OF SAINT JOAN OF ARC by Ben D. Kennedy

THE NIGHT SKY: WRITINGS ON THE POETICS OF EXPERIENCE by Ann Lauterbach

THE BEDSIDE GUIDE TO NO TELL MOTEL SECOND FLOOR, Eds. Reb Livingston and Molly Arden

SOULS OF WIND, novel by John Olson

MY ZORBA by Danielle Pafunda

SELECTED POEMS OF OCTAVIO PAZ, bilingual edition with translations by Muriel Rukeyser

GRAVITY & GRACE by Ernesto Priego

THE GODS WE WORSHIP LIVE NEXT DOOR by Bino A. Realuyo

LEAFLETS: POEMS 1965-1968 by Adrienne Rich

LENINGRAD: AMERICAN WRITERS IN THE SOVIET UNION, memoir by Ron Silliman, Bruce Watten, Michael Davidson and Lyn Hejinian

WARSAW BIKINI by Sandra Simonds

THE MYTH OF SIMPLE MACHINES by Laurel Snyder

FACINGS by Jordan Stempleman

WHAT'S THE MATTER by Jordan Stempleman

THE GINKGO LIGHT by Arthur Sze

THE BLIND CHATELAINE'S KEYS by Eileen Tabios

DREDGING FOR ATLANTIS by Eileen Tabios

FOOTNOTES TO ALGEBRA: UNCOLLECTED POEMS 1995-2009 by Eileen Tabios

NOTA BENE EISWEIN by Eileen Tabios

ROMAN HOLIDAY by Eileen Tabios

TRANSCENDENTAL STUDIES: A TRILOGY by Keith Waldrop

COLLECTED POEMS by C.K. Williams