Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006. Photo by UNL Publications and Photography.

It’s a rare occasion when I find dozens of poems by just one poet that I’d like to share with you, but Joyce Sutphen, who lives in Minnesota, is someone who writes that well, with that kind of appeal. Here is just one example. How many of us have marveled at how well our parents have succeeded at a long marriage?

The Exam

It is mid-October. The trees are in

their autumnal glory (red, yellow-green,

orange) outside the classroom where students

take the mid-term, sniffling softly as if

identifying lines from Blake or Keats

was such sweet sorrow, summoned up in words

they never saw before. I am thinking

of my parents, of the six decades they’ve

been together, of the thirty thousand

meals they’ve eaten in the kitchen, of the

more than twenty thousand nights they’ve slept

under the same roof. I am wondering

who could have fashioned the test that would have

predicted this success? Who could have known?

Ted Kooser was US Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006. He is a professor in the English Department of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He lives on an acreage near the village of Garland, Nebraska, with his wife Kathleen Rutledge, the editor of the Lincoln Journal Star.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2010 by Joyce Sutphen, whose most recent book of poetry is First Words, Red Dragonfly Press, 2010. Poem reprinted by permission of Joyce Sutphen. Introduction copyright ©2010 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

As a role model, however, princess-hood is a decidedly mixed bag. Who doesn’t want their little girl to enjoy princess-league perks and privileges? On the other hand, who wants their daughters to think that the way to achieve this is by marrying into it or by inheriting it from your father?

That’s the conundrum that Shirin Yim Bridges beautifully navigates in her new series, “The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Real Princesses.”

Bridges will give a reading and presentation at Catfish Books on 11^th Street in Lakeport from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18.

“Most of my writing is about girls who manage to do what few people think is possible,” explained Bridges, the award-winning children’s author of Ruby’s Wish and The Umbrella Queen. “Now my focus is on real princesses throughout history who’ve accomplished incredible things in their own right. These stories blend messages of female empowerment with the romance and enchantment surrounding princesses.”

The series, aimed at girls ages 9 through 13, includes histories of six princesses: Hatshepsut of Egypt, Artemisia of Caria, Sorghaghtani of Mongolia, Qutlugh Terkan Khatun of Kirman, Isabella of Castile, and Nur Jahan of India.

The books are richly illustrated with photographs and maps, and lovely pen-and-watercolor paintings by Albert Nguyen, whose art helps to bring the stories of these fascinating girls vividly to life.

“The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Real Princesses” brings Shirin Bridges’ lyrical storytelling to some of the most inspiring – and little known – tales in history. They’re the first offerings from Goosebottom Books, Bridges’ fledgling new press.

“I’m a big believer in fun non-fiction for girls of this age. These princesses are incredible role models of empowerment. Their stories are fascinating in their own right, but also hold powerful lessons for children – lessons that we aim to sneak through in a fun and palatable way. We call it ‘stealth education.’”

“The fascination with princesses seems innate in little girls,” says Bridges, whose multi-cultural storytelling reflects her years living all over the globe. “But when girls reach a certain age they want a little more meat. We believe this series is the perfect move on from Disney princesses and fairy tales.”

“The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Real Princesses” is designed to whet their appetites for learning through reading, well into the future. Work has already begun on Goosebottom’s second series, The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Dastardly Dames, which will include volumes by six contributing authors.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Local entertainer Andre Williams will perform with his talented Andre Williams Trio at Silk's in Clearlake on Thursday, Nov. 4.

The performance will start at 5 p.m. and continue to as late as 8 p.m. at Williams' Silk's Bar & Grill.

Williams will put his incredible voice to work on old favorites.

Silk's Bar & Grill is located at 14825 Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake.

The performances, sponsored by the Lake County Arts Council, will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 20, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 21, at the Lower Lake Historic Schoolhouse Museum Weaver Auditorium, 16435 Main St., Lower Lake.

Featured will be Claire Ando, Doug Reams, Reiko Hattori, Cathy O'Connell, Erika Tibbetts and Doug Burns.

Tickets cost $10 each, with proceeds to benefit the Lake County Arts Council Youth Gallery.

For more information call Viki Jay, telephone 707-277-8714.

Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006. Photo by UNL Publications and Photography.

Here’s our Halloween poem for this year, in the thin dry voice of a ghost, as captured by Katie Cappello who lives in Northern California.

A Ghost Abandons the Haunted

You ignore the way light filters through my cells,

the way I have of fading out — still

there is a constant tug, a stretching,

what is left of me is coming loose. Soon,

I will be only crumbs of popcorn,

a blue ring in the tub, an empty

toilet paper roll, black mold

misted on old sponges,

strands of hair woven into

carpet, a warped door

that won’t open, the soft spot

in an avocado, celery, a pear,

a metallic taste in the beer, a cold sore

on your lip — and when I finally lose my hold

you will hear a rustle and watch me spill

grains of rice across the cracked tile.

Ted Kooser was US Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006. He is a professor in the English Department of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He lives on an acreage near the village of Garland, Nebraska, with his wife Kathleen Rutledge, the editor of the Lincoln Journal Star.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org),

publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of

Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2009 by Donal Heffernan, whose most recent book of poetry is

“Duets of Motion,” Lone Oak Press, 2001. Poem reprinted by permission of Donal Heffernan.

Introduction copyright ©2010 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

American Life in Poetry ©2006 The Poetry Foundation

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This column does not accept unsolicited poetry.