Poem of the Week: “Cold River Season” by Patricia Fargnoli

The VPR Poem of the Week is Patricia Fargnoli’s “Cold River Season,” which appeared in the Fall/Winter 2009-2010 issue (Volume XI, Number 1) of Valparaiso Poetry Review.

Patricia Fargnoli, the New Hampshire Poet Laureate from 2005 to March 2009, is the author of five collections of poetry. Her recent book of poems, Then, Something, was published by Tupelo Press in 2009. Duties of the Spirit (Tupelo Press, 2005) won the N.H. Jane Kenyon Poetry Award for an Outstanding Book of Poetry, and her first book, Necessary Light, (Utah State University Press, 2000), won the May Swenson Poetry Award. Her work has appeared in various literary journals, including Nimrod, Ploughshares, Poet Lore, Poetry International, and Yalobusha Review.

Tuesday of each week “One Poet’s Notes” highlights an excellent work by a poet selected from the issues of Valparaiso Poetry Review, except when other posts with news or updates preempt the usual appearance of this item, with the recommendation that readers revisit it. Please check the sidebar to view the list of poets and works that have been past “Poem of the Week” selections. Additionally, readers are reminded that VPR pages are best read with the browser font preference in which they were set, 12 pt. Times New Roman, in order to guarantee the stanza alignment and the breaks of longer lines are preserved.