Story of a Poem

A document of not only how to make a poem, but how to live in a world where language often fails us. ' Ada Limon, U. S. Poet LaureateMatthew Zapruder had an idea. to write a poem as slowly and intentionally as possible, to preserve its drafts, and record the painstaking, elusively transcendent stuff of its construction. It would be the end cap to a new collection of poetry, and a means to process modern American life in a time of political turmoil, mega fires, and sobriety. What Zapruder didn't anticipate was that this literary project would reveal a deeply personal aspect as well. a way to resolve the unexplored pain and unexpected joys he was confronting in the wake of his son's diagnosis with autism. The result is a remarkable piece of writing, one that explores not just what it means to be a poet and father, but also what it means to be alive on this planet during this turbulent and extraordinary time. By comparing the writing of a poem with his own tangled evolution as a son, husband and father, Zapruder unfolds moments of his own life in the reflection of an increasingly uncanny world. with a wide range of reference points from Celan, Li Bai and Frank O'Hara to Whitman, Merwin and Rupi Kaur we join Zapruder on a poet's journey, that in some alchemy of literature, becomes a journey of our own.