{"product_id":"to-start-with-feel-fortunate-peter-meinke-9780997262940","title":"To Start With, Feel Fortunate","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e To Begin With, Feel Fortunate was written in part in the chaotic year\u003cbr\u003e running up to the election of the new president and is a passionate\u003cbr\u003e analysis of how we got to where we are as a nation, and what may be\u003cbr\u003e in store for us. As Peter has said in an interview, \"You have to remember\u003cbr\u003e that even the poets who live in garrets are citizens, and I\u003cbr\u003e urge them to use their voices and partake in the actual goings-on of\u003cbr\u003e our country.\" Like William Meredith, who was a good friend in the\u003cbr\u003e old days, Meinke's work is not written from the ivory tower. Like\u003cbr\u003e Meredith, he feels writers and intellectuals have an obligation to\u003cbr\u003e speak the truth and shame the devil. And if poetry and prose are to\u003cbr\u003e be useful in our lives, they must first of all be honest or otherwise\u003cbr\u003e risk being merely window dressing in a fancy American living room.\u003cbr\u003e Critics have argued that poetry fails to the exact extent it attempts\u003cbr\u003e to be didactic. And though he is a teacher and has lived to see much\u003cbr\u003e change in this country, Meinke's work does not attempt to preach.\u003cbr\u003e It's the voice of a really nice guy you'd like to have a beer with at the\u003cbr\u003e local pub to hash out whatever you have on your mind: the world series, \u003cbr\u003e the future of the stock market, the state of the union. He would\u003cbr\u003e never consider his fellow citizens \"deplorable\" and admires the hardworking, \u003cbr\u003e middle-class as well as poets who celebrate their life, like\u003cbr\u003e Philip Levine and yes, Bob Dylan.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Peter Meinke\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 099726294X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780997262940\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Poets Choice Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/01\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 384\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.13lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.79d","brand":"Peter Meinke","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48483835904255,"sku":"9780997262940","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_feb655b9-206f-41ff-8da3-a63a116d83e6.jpg?v=1778040896","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/to-start-with-feel-fortunate-peter-meinke-9780997262940","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}