The greatest thing a book can do is get you reading and writing again yourself. Poets on the Peaks made me get my old Gary Snyder books out from the shelf, Turtle Island, Rip Rap & Cold Mountain Poems, Regarding Wave and Left Out in the Rain. The last was surprising to see again. I haven’t got time now to write that posting, but I shall. Also, shall search my old diaries and see if I can find my account of hearing Snyder read at Melbourne Uni way back when, just about my first ever real live overseas poet I heard, and inspiring it was too.
Also, got me writing again, or maybe it was the cold mountains and water of Wilson’s Promontory that did that for me, but I got a couple of new poems going which was nice.
The other sign of a good book? You don’t want to finish it. I’m trying to eke out this one to the exact end of Sunday evening before I go back to work.
