Kary Wayson is a poet and teacher.
Kary Wayson is a poet and writing teacher. Photo by Brian Weiss

Good morning. It's Tuesday, March 31, and today's message comes from the poet Kary Wayson.

Instead of reading you a poem of her own, Kary asked if she could read you her favorite Wallace Stevens poem.

"I suppose it just so happens to be my favorite poem lately," she explained, after shooting this video in her quarantine in Queen Anne. "I'm reminded of it nightly when I encounter those crazy rabbits all over the grass in my front yard when I return from my nightly quarantine constitutional."

The poem is called "A Rabbit as King of the Ghosts." You might want to click that link to follow along to the words on the Poetry Foundation's website.

However, you do not want to miss what happens in the video between 1:00 and 1:10.

Kary's poems have been published widely, including in Best American Poetry 2007 and the 2010 Pushcart Prize anthology.

American Husband, her first book, received the Journal Award in 2009 from Ohio State University Press.

Her second book, The Slip, which won the Burnside Review Poetry Prize, was published last month. Read the title poem in it here.

Isnt this a gorgeous cover? Click here to buy it.
Isn't this a gorgeous cover?

Rich Smith wrote in a glowing review in The Stranger:

Both [of Kary's] books share some subjects: the paradox of the self (we're singular, yet we contain multitudes), the lover(s), the mother, the father, aborted beginnings of all kinds, and the way we never stop loving people we've loved. She's particularly interested in how impossible it is to reconcile that last subject with the language we have for love. Words themselves, with their many outs, allow us so many ways to evade commitments.

"These poems make me laugh out loud and blink back sudden tears," Suzanne Buffam said.

"These poems show us how to breathe," Ilya Kaminsky said.

Wayson is a two-time finalist for a Stranger Genius Award.
"It's a joy to try to keep up with Wayson as she unsettles every settled thought," The Stranger said in a review of The Slip. Photo by Kelly O

What a joy, being read to. If you have a favorite poem, maybe read it aloud to someone on Facetime today. If you don't have a favorite poem, maybe find someone who does, and have them read theirs aloud to you.

You can follow Kary on Instagram or Twitter.

Thank you so much for reading to us, Kary.

And thanks for making us laugh, Brian.

Here's hoping this Tuesday is better than last Tuesday, everyone.

You are being good about social distancing, and it's working.



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Also in this series:


John Rodericks message to the city on April 3.
John Roderick's message to the city on April 3.

Bill Cartys message to the city on April 2.
Bill Carty's message to the city on April 2.

Price Suddarths message to the city on April 1.
Price Suddarth's message to the city on April 1.

Kary Waysons message to the city on March 31.
Kary Wayson's message to the city on March 31.

Ellen Forneys message to the city on March 30.
Ellen Forney's message to the city on March 30.

Major Scaless message to the city on March 29.
Major Scales's message to the city on March 29.

E. J. Kohs message to the city on March 28.
E. J. Koh's message to the city on March 28.

Ken Jenningss message to the city on March 27.
Ken Jennings's message to the city on March 27.

Demarre McGills message to the city on March 26.
Demarre McGill's message to the city on March 26.

Lynn Sheltons Message to the City on March 25th.
Lynn Shelton's Message to the City on March 25th.

Timothy White Eagles message to the city on March 24.
Timothy White Eagle's message to the city on March 24.

Cookie Coutures message to the city on March 23.
Cookie Couture's message to the city on March 23.

Sarah Rudinoffs message to the city on March 22.
Sarah Rudinoff's message to the city on March 22.

John Osebolds message to the city on March 21.
John Osebold's message to the city on March 21.


Ben Gibbards message to the city on March 21.
Ben Gibbard's message to the city on March 20.

Nathan Chans message to the city on March 19.
Nathan Chan's message to the city on March 19.