Poetry and the Mouth

Hart Crane by candlelight, Longfellow on a cake, and the scoop on the amazing Patricia Smith

Hart Crane

ISitting on my back porch years ago, on a very foggy Maine summer night, reading Hart Crane by flickering candlelight to the poet Kazim Ali and his partner, I share with them  “Proem: To Brooklyn Bridge,”  “For the Marriage of Faustus and Helen,”  and "Voyages: III”(lines my husband, who shares my love of Crane, had typed out and hung in the kitchen).  What does “share “ mean in this situation?  What do I mean when I say, “ I’ve got to share those poems with you!” and run to get the book, a couple of different editions of it, from the poetry bookshelves lining the dining room? What does it mean?

In this expectant, still exclaim receive

The secret oar and petals of all love. . .

Crane is a poet with whom I share a deeply intimate connection. Both of my parents used to recite him to me, both separately and together. He and I even share a name (my full name is Annie Ridley Crane Finch). But there is only one way, really, that I can share him with others.