Poets and Poems: Paul Mariani and “Ordinary Time”

Paul Mariani has given a new perspective on “ordinary time.”

In the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church, “ordinary time” is the period that falls outside the official holidays. It’s divided into two parts – from Christmas to Lent, and from Lent to Advent. Mariani uses the idea for the title of his latest collection of poetry, Ordinary Time. Instead of the period or periods that fall outside the official church holiday observances, he uses it to focus on what we might call “the rest of life.”

And what is the rest of life? Childhood and growing up. Parents. Grandchildren. Vacations and visits. What happened when his rough-and-tumble father learned Mariani was writing poetry. Discovering the madness of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Teachers. His young mother trying to drive a car in New York City. His mother reaching out to a young woman whose husband has just died in World War II Europe. What East 51^st Street in New York was like in the early 1940s, and how that world vanished.

To continue reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak Poetry.