About the poems:
The personal ads.
That's how we used to hook up in the 1980's and 1990's before there was eHarmony and chat rooms.
Beth Gylys' poem "Personal" reminds me of those days gone by when we quaintly spelled out our likes and dislikes and waited for someone to respond. First they came in letter form, and later via voice mail. Then, we picked and chose.
Gylys is very specific about what she wants and doesn't want. Her poem comes right to the point.
Then, there's "Preference." This poem is about the expression of intimacy. It takes different forms with different couples. It's about knowing what feels good and teaching your lover what feels good then putting it all together.
This poem is so smooth you can feel it on your skin.
Both poems were selected from Gylys' collection "Bodies that Hum" for which she won the Gerald Cable First Book Award. The collection was published by Silverfish Press in 1999.
About the Poet:
Currently, Beth Gylys is a professor of English and creative writing at Georgia State University. In addition to "Bodies that Hum," Gylys also published her collection "Spot in the Dark," which won her the Journal Award. It was published by Ohio State University in 2004.
I also found Beth Gylys' "High Five," an essay where she discusses her favorite poems and poets.
"(I) decided to focus on five poems/books that were important to me at the beginning stages of my writing career-some were central to my understanding of self as writer before I even had any idea I/one could actually BE a writer in the contemporary world. All five poets I discuss below are writers whose work transformed my notions about what poetry could do and be," she says.
Read Beth Gylys'"High Five" in its entirety.
Print copies of "Personal" and "Preference" and sample other poems by Beth Gylys at Boston Review: A political and literary forum.
Beth Gylys' poetry collections are available at amazon.com. Prices range from $7.46 - $26.95.
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