A Note from the Poetry Editor:
It came to my attention recently that some of you may have missed the news that one of America’s most celebrated and beloved poets, Maxine Kumin, died in February of this year, at age 88, at her home in Warner, New Hampshire. An almost full-page obituary appeared in the New York Times on February 8.
If you look back through our archives, you will see that we featured her in the early days of Poetry Monday. She was a cherished friend and mentor for me personally, as she was for many others. My last e-mail from her was on January 2nd at 3:34 p.m.
“Poetry is a big umbrella,” Maxine used to say, “with room under it for everyone.” ( I hope she’ll forgive me if I’ve quoted her inaccurately, but that was the idea). She is greatly missed already, but quite marvelously we may have a last word from her. A new collection of poems by Maxine Kumin is due next month from W.W. Norton.
Irene Willis