About Sonny Williams

Read: X. J. Kennedy and KidLit I first heard X. J. Kennedy read in West Chester, Pennsylvania. I was in a lecture hall at the local university, weary and dispirited from an overdose of “serious” poetry readings, and I glanced at the doorway, deliberating on whether or not I should make my escape to the [...]

Reviewed: Thirst by Mary Oliver. Beacon Press, 2006. I first came across Mary Oliver’s poetry when I was in high school, and her most recent collection, American Primitive, had the fresh imprimatur of the Pulitzer Prize on the cover. I was immediately taken by her vivid imagery, her Romantic and exultant descriptions of nature, and [...]

Reviewed: The Norton Anthology of Children’s Literature: The Traditions in English (College Textbook Edition) (Paperback), Edited by Jack Zipes, W. W. Norton, 2005. 2471 pp., $80.95 As one would expect, the new Norton Anthology of Children’s Literature doubles as a textbook and as poundage for weightlifting. So put away your Bowflex and just buy more [...]

Reviewed: Good Poems. Ed. by Garrison Keillor, Penguin Books, 2002, $15.00  The Penguin Book of the Sonnet: 500 Years of a Classical Tradition in English. Ed. by Phillis Levin. Penguin Books, 2001, $18.00  Present/Tense: Poets in the World. Ed. by Mark Pawlak, Hanging Loose Press, 2004, $16.00  The Poetry Anthology, 1912-2002: Ninety Years of America’s [...]