HOW TO FLY (IN TEN THOUSAND EASY LESSONS) Poetry

Barbara Kingsolver delivers her poetry of the everyday with sweet-voiced accessibility and a hint of Appalachia tang. The subjects range from losing weight (or not), peonies, sheep shearing, and knitting--"By involving fiber in my invocation of divinity/I feel assured of a fairly positive outcome"--to marriage, her mother's death, and visiting a "burying ground"--"This cemetery is full of too much living." It's a mix of personal subjects that people often keep private, made universal by Kingsolver's going public. How to get a divorce--"Don't fight for these: The car that's not paid for/Every gift you pretended to like." Kingsolver reads unhurriedly, savoring the mix and match of words, giving listeners time to enjoy them with her. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2020]