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Title: Windfall: New and Selected Poems (Pitt Poetry Series) by Maggie Anderson ISBN: 0-8229-5719-1 Publisher: Univ of Pittsburgh Pr (Txt) Pub. Date: April, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.95

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Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (2 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: stunning
Comment: Maggie Anderson's poems collected in Windfall are a masterful collection. I had the honor of hearing her read several of the poems, and her flat-toned, Appalachian voice really changes the more lyrical verse itself into something strikingly real. Ms. Anderson is amazing, and this collection will leave its impact.

Rating: 4
Summary: This is a Windfall of gems and precious stones
Comment: In a couple of poems in Windfall: New and Selected Poems, Maggie Anderson uses the analogy of pearls to describe objects in those poems. As I thought about her collection of poetry, the analogy of gems and precious stones on a gold chain was the first thing that came to mind.

The poems aren't like pearls because they vary in subject and style. The jewel that hangs prominently on the center of the chain is "Heart Fire". The poem, written in memory of a young man who took his life, vividly tells how everything Ms. Anderson sees reminds her of his physical attributes. It is an amethyst because of its richness in color. "Knife" and other poems in which Ms. Anderson discusses her fear of her father are marquise-cut diamonds that have points to pierce the bubble of a peaceful world. The Black Dog poems, especially "Black Dog Goes to Art Colony", are black onyx stones that counter the sharp diamonds with their smoothness and warmth.

But "Literary" aptly described my overall feelings as I read this book. Ms Anderson said that when she read poems as a young woman, she struggled to understand what they meant. Some of the poems in Windfall seemed beyond my mental grasp because I don't have an academic background in poetry. Since I also am unfamiliar with many of the plants Ms. Anderson mentions in her nature poetry, I saw holes in the landscapes that she was painting with her words. Instead of giving up on understanding the poems that were perplexing, I reread many of them. I was glad I made that effort because I picked up on the links of the gold chain that thread through the gems and stones. Although a poem early in the book told of her father's death, the fear of him still lives inside of Ms. Anderson. Connected to that chain of thought are the poems that deal with her mother and other relatives., who are painted as reticent individuals. Blackberries stimulate all of Ms. Anderson's senses, and she is highly conscious of boundaries of every sort.

Although I felt Windfall was sometimes challenging, I felt it was worth the struggle. "Heart Fire" is one of the best poems I've ever read, and I feel my knowledge of poetry has grown as a result of reading this book.