{"product_id":"9780997262940","title":"TO START WITH, FEEL FORTUNATE","description":"\u003cp\u003eTo Begin With, Feel Fortunate was written in part in the chaotic year\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003erunning up to the election of the new president and is a passionate\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eanalysis of how we got to where we are as a nation, and what may be\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ein store for us. As Peter has said in an interview, “You have to remember\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethat even the poets who live in garrets are citizens, and I\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eurge them to use their voices and partake in the actual goings-on of\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eour country.” Like William Meredith, who was a good friend in the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eold days, Meinke’s work is not written from the ivory tower. Like\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMeredith, he feels writers and intellectuals have an obligation to\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003espeak the truth and shame the devil. And if poetry and prose are to\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ebe useful in our lives, they must first of all be honest or otherwise\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003erisk being merely window dressing in a fancy American living room.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCritics have argued that poetry fails to the exact extent it attempts\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eto be didactic. And though he is a teacher and has lived to see much\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003echange in this country, Meinke’s work does not attempt to preach.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt’s the voice of a really nice guy you’d like to have a beer with at the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elocal pub to hash out whatever you have on your mind: the world series,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe future of the stock market, the state of the union. He would\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003enever consider his fellow citizens “deplorable” and admires the hardworking,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003emiddle-class as well as poets who celebrate their life, like\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePhilip Levine and yes, Bob Dylan.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Poets Choice Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49898540335344,"sku":"9780997262940","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780997262940","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}