Marcia Cohee on Poets Cafe
The following interview of Marcia Cohee by Lois P. Jones originally aired on KPFK Los Angeles (reproduced with permission).
Biographical Information—Marcia Cohee
Marcia Cohee received her MFA from the University of Massachusetts, where she studied under James Tate. Her most recent poetry collection, Story, came out last year from Tebot Bach. She is also the author of six chapbooks as well as three previous collections: Sexual Terrain (1986), Laguna Canyon Was Once a River (1991), and Bonefire (1996). More than 250 of her poems have appeared in various literary magazines and anthologies. Active in the Southern California poetry community for many years, Marcia has taught workshops in both poetry and fiction, has read at numerous venues throughout California. With her husband Pat, Marcia co-hosted the Laguna Poets readings and edited the Laguna Poets chapbook series, known for nurturing the careers of many talented Southern California poets.
Begin
Begin like a wingless raven
composing the dark terrain.
Or love
with its narrow margins,
its teeth, trying to fit
the grip of language.
And you never
see it coming, a whisper
of cloud,
combustible as hope.
The sky emptying
its bottle of reasons.
You never see
this love poem
thawing
the cold
universe with its
black wings.