Mann, John 2002
American Poets Reading
with Deborah Cummins, Janice Harrington, and Jenny A. Burkholder
The body captures the rhythm. A kind
of lilt to the step. Never a tread. You
are looking for ladders to the world.
Hooks. Sometimes it is like holding on
to the strap in a swaying subway.
– John Mann, “Mr. Mann Finds a How To Manual”
Read this interview with John Mann from The McDonough County Voice:
Q&A with Poet John Mann
Poet John Mann was a English instructor at Western Illinois University and local resident for many years, and next week he’ll return to read his work.Mann, who retired from WIU in 2008 and currently lives in Iowa City, recently won the 2011 National Poetry Review Book Prize and had a collection of his poetry titled “Able, Baker, Charlie” published last year by the National Poetry Review Press.He’ll appear at 7 p.m.
His plants are alive. They shelter
his head where he sits each
dawn. They are his friends.
They practice the speech of silence.
– John Mann, “Speak Now or Forever, Mr. Mann”
