Winter Morning Walks : 100 Postcards to Jim Harrison (Poetry Series)

Winter Morning Walks : 100 Postcards to Jim Harrison by Ted Kooser is a book to keep, and it also would be a thoughtful gift for others on their health journey. The poems are excellent. I am rereading today. The Cover Painting is by Ted Kooser. The book was published by Carnegie Mellon University Press Pittsburgh 2000, and publication was supported by a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. The book design presents the poems in a clear way. The preface is by Ted Kooser, from Garland, Nebraska, Spring 1999. A now classic book. Thank you.

A friend of mine sent me the complete poems of Jim Harrison. I found out the Winter Morning Walks was another poet's answers to Jim's writing in the form of postcards. I sent these back to my friend who was enthusiastic about their interchange of writings.

Suggested by Maria Schneider as inspiration for her Jazz composition “Walking by Flashlight “. Excellent poetry, excellent jazz.

These short poems are so visual, after reading each once (or more often) you are compelled to stay with the poet and the images he uniquely and beautifully has conjured until they dissipate and release you.

This is a sweet little collection of poetic correspondence with Jim Harrison. Short poems that are morning reflections (Harrison’s responses, if there were any) are not included. They are beautiful and sparse.

This book, by our current Poet Laureate, is as fine a book of modern poetry as you can hope for. During his treatment for cancer, the author is given medication that makes his skin sun-sensitive. So, in order to maintain his daily habit of walking the country roads of Nebraska for exercise, he has to do it before the sun comes up. To allay the inherent loneliness, he decides to send a friend, Jim Harrison, a poem on a postcard everyday. So, in the company of one of his dogs, plenty of different birds, and a keenly inquisitive mind to which nothing is ordinary and everything informs on everything else, this book was born. I usually read such a book in less than a week, marking the more effective poems in the table for contents for when I return. I couldn't shake this one for three weeks, and I read and read each of them poems three and four times before moving on to the next. It's winter in New England; that may be part of it. And the grey dawn hand of mortality has overshadowed me for the last few months as well. But neither is real reason I kept this faithful book with me; fundamentally, it's just a good book. Look past that startlingly honest title and start reading. You won't regret it. C. S. Lewis quoted a student, who quoted his father, saying, "We read to know that we are not alone." If every a book does that, this does.

Observations about the natural world while walking pre dawn in a Nebraska winter. Simple, but imagery is quite nice. This is my second book written by this guy, I intend to buy a few more.

These poems definitely reflect his concern with his mortality. Before sunup walks in the cold probably would do that for anyone. Still a good read, though.

A wonderful selection of beautiful poems written when he was recovering from cancer, appreciating the present and looking towards a more promising future. Anyone with similar experiences will identify with the observations and feelings expressed. A book to be kept close by, dipped into often, and re-read again and again.