The Poetry of William Stafford: Comments

I will be attending a Deep Dive Poetry Workshop on the poet William Stafford (1914-1993) conducted by John Sibley Williams. This Zoom workshop will be held online on April 30, 2026.

I will be attending The Stafford Challenge 2026 Conference in Portland from June 18, 2026 until June 21, 2026. This conference will be held at the Lewis and Clark College campus. The conference has many noted teachers, poets, and scholars in attendance. Our local Vancouver, WA, poet laurate, art’s leader, editor, and teacher, Christopher Luna, will be one of the teachers.

In 2026, I have been reading a lot of the poetry written by William Stafford (1914-1993). He was a professor of English at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon.  He is one of the best known poets from Oregon.

My preliminary observations about William Stafford’s poetry:

1.   Probably 70% of his poems fit on one page in a printed book. There are typically under 30 lines per page. A number of these poems are more in sonnet length to 20 lines per page. Each poem is titled. He tends to avoid longer lines with lots of syllables. Since I favor brief poems, his style of poetry appeals to me. His style is direct, plain, and succinct!

2.      He uses the Quintain form more often than any other poet I have ever read. I research quintains, pentastichs, tankas, cinquains, quintets, gogyohkas, wakas, commonplaces, and onions.

3.      He enjoyed the outdoors in the Pacific Northwest. He talked about camping, hiking, traveling, people, locales, plants, remote places, and enjoying life outdoors with family and friends. Since I also share many similar interests and write poetry about our Pacific Bio-Region, his concise, plain, and soft spoken words resonated with me.

4.      His anti-war views and socio-political progressive views were appealing. He was a conscientious objector and worked in a federal camp. His philosophy was aligned with my own views on Virtue Ethics.

5.      Many of his poems reflect Native American viewpoints, storytelling, myths, and ways of speaking and writing. I have also studied and appreciate the literature of Native Americans. Staccatos, repeats, chants, two world consciousness, temporal anomalies, bumpy logic, departures into animal/plant minds., mythical nexus, earthiness, insects, etc.

6.      William Stafford’s style of writing benefits from the lack of obscure allusions, name dropping, radical metaphors and convoluted vocabulary, free verse rambling, Paris cliches and Big City shenanigans, and strange surrealistic oulipos Avant-guard sophisticated wordiness.

 These stylistic typographical constraints can challenge any poet to be more concise, to get to the point faster, to use an economy towards words, to be more precise, to be a tighter editor, to be a careful and slashing reviser, to come to a conclusion in a clever terse manner, to make humorous meaningful riddles, to turn over river stones for a closer quick look.

Here are the poetry books by William Stafford that I have read:

Stafford, William. The Way It Is: New and Selected Poems. Graywolf, 1977, 1998, 268 pages. Paperback, VSCPL (My home poetry research library.)

William Stafford. The Darkness Around Us is Deep. 1994, 160 pages. Selected Poems of William Stafford – An Award-Winning Poet's Works Chosen by Bestselling Author Robert Bly. VSCPL.

Cantos of the Hands
By .m.p.g.

William Stafford. Allegiances. New Poems by William Stafford. Harper and Row, 1970, 82 pages. FVRL. (Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries)

William Stafford. Even in Small Places. Conference Press, 1996, 120 pages. FVRL.

William Stafford. The World Instead: The Early Poems of William Stafford 1937-1947. Edited with an introduction by Fred Merchant. Graywold Press, 2008, 149 pages. FVRL.

 

I have also read books of poetry by William Stafford’s son,
Kim Stafford, as follows:

Stafford, Kim (Date). As the Sky Begins to Change. By Kim Stafford. Red H2024, 135 pages. FVRL.

Kim Stafford. A Thousand Friends of Rain: New and Selected Poems 1976-1998. By Kim Stafford. Carnegie Mellon Press, 2005, 120 pages. FVRL.

Kim Stafford. Wild Honey, Tough Salt. By Kim Stafford. Red Hen Press, 2019, 111 pages. FVRL.

As for my own poetry research, and poetry writing in April of 2026:

Bundled Up: Quintains, Volume 7

Tick-Tock Tractatus Speaking of Time: The Poetic Investigations, Part 1.

Pulling Onions Speaking of Time, The Poetic Investigations, Part 2

Another Crop of Gardening Thoughts on Time, Part 2.1, TTT 12.6

Lyric Logic: How Modern American Poetry Reasons. By Johanna Winant. Columbia University Press, 2026, 261 pages, index, bibliography, notes. VSCPL. Reading in April, 2026.

Open Mic Poetry Reading in Vancouver WA

 

An Open Mic Poetry Reading was held from 3-5 pm at the downtown central library of the Fort Vancouver Regional Library System. We met in the spacious and attractive Columbia Room in the library.

Around 25 people attended this poetry reading. Library staff welcomed the attendees and briefly covered the ground rules for appropriate readings in a public libary setting. Refreshments were provided.

The current poet-laureate for Clark County, Susan Dingle, shared some of her poems from her Master’s Thesis. She gave the name of each person before they read their poems. I did not remember the names of so many readers.

Three people shared haiku or short poems. Most read longer poems from their cell phones. One man had memorized his poem, and beautifully acted it out for us. Women and men shared their compositions.

This was the first time I had ever read one of my poems to an audience. But, I did not mention this to the audience. I was calm and confident. I read my poem titled: A Fork in the Crypto Road.

Many poems were of a confessional nature about the poet’s addictions, mental illness, losses, sadness, Striking images and metaphors were prevalent. Most were free verse compositions. A couple of poems were accounts of travel experiences and thoughts

I enjoyed myself. I sat next to a young college student, Kameron, a history major at WSU Vancouver, and we chatted a good deal. Her father had just retired and moved to Kalama WA for fishing. Her poem was about her dad.

I met Jacob Seltzer, a Master Level haiku and tanka poet. I also met my new online Zoom poetry teacher, Christopher Luna. I spoke briefly with Sarah Hooker, a Haiku poet.

At the Edges of the West
Highway 101 and 1

25 Steps and Beyond: The Collected Works
By Mike Garofalo

Message from the Vessel in a Dream: A Review

Message from the Vessel in a Dream. By Christopher Luna. First Flowstone Press Edition, 2018, 130 pages. Printed Matter Vancouver VSCL.

Amazon Review by Mike Garofalo:

This is a fine collection of poems authored by Christopher Luna. His poems are mostly in free verse, hip, Beat style, and contemporary. His justified anger about contemporary injustices and oppression are told in his verses. Mr. Luna’s command of creative Beat Style poetic techniques is impressive. He uses prose narratives, quotations, asides, conversational block poems, italic formatted comments on poets and poetry, references to books and articles, abstract and philosophical ruminations at times, and he provides fresh insights. Most of his carefully crafted poems fit on one page. He is frank and open about sexuality, friendships, drugs, parties, contemporary issues, and alternative lifestyles. His sophisticated bluntness and direct manner are invigorating. His poems are mostly about people, not places or nature. I found his Collage Poems technique (Fecund Labyrinth, pp.61-111) very interesting; and his interest in the Investigative Poetry techniques from Ed Sanders to be stimulating.

I find his poetic messages robust, earthy, life loving, and free, for example: “when awake/ each moment/ is a glorious/ potentially transformative/ high energy, construct/that opens slowly, deliberately/ like the lotus petals/ of a woman’s vulva/ as we stand in awe/ scribbling furiously/ hoping to get it all down/ needing to get it right, dammit.” p.37

I have also purchased two of his edited anthologies: Ghost Town Poetry, Open Mic: Volumes 2 and 3; reviewed elsewhere. Also, Good Reads!

I prefer his other good collage art works rather than the astronaut one used on the cover of this engaging book. But, never judge a book by its cover.

The book provides a detailed autobiography and information about other "Rebel Angel" post-modern poets who have influenced him: Allen Ginsberg, Niki Giovanni, Amiri Baraka, Anne Waldman, Ed Sanders, and Diane di Prima." Mr. Luna is an active leader of poetry Open Mic sessions, a literary coach, an editor, a collage artist, film critic, researcher, jazz musician, and social activist in the City of Vancouver, Washington State. He is an “Outsider,” with an MFA from the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics from Naropa University in 1999. He was the Poet Laureate in Vancouver from 2013-2017.

A book deep enough for rereading!

Ghost Town Poetry: Cover to Cover Books, 2004-2010: An Anthology of Poems from the Ghost Town Open Mic Series. Edited by Christopher J. Juna and Toni Partington. 2011, 134 pages. VSCL.

Ghost Town Poetry: Volume Two, 2004-2014. Edited by Christopher Luna and Toni Partington. Cover to Cover Books, Printed Matter Vancouver, WA, 2014, 98 pages. FVRL.

Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic: Volume Three, 2004-2024. Edited by Christopher Luna, Toni Lumbrazo Luna, and Morgan Paige. Printed Matter, Vancouver WA, 2024. 149 pages. Purchased at Birdhouse Books in Vancouver, WA. VSCL. 

Amazon Review by Mike Garofalo:

I was first made aware of this interesting collection when I read a copy of the book borrowed from the Fort Vancouver Regional Library. I found the books artwork, the good poems, and the collage by Christopher Luna to be appealing.

The introduction by Mr. Luna was highly informative and would be useful for anyone trying to establish a local Open Mic poetry reading series in a community. Clark County has over a half million residents, so the nearby fan base of poetry lovers is considerable in the Vancouver, Washington State area where I live. Many interesting people shared their experience, reflections, and poetic compositions.

The poems are challenging, contemporary, hip, inclusive, liberal, woke, and lively. Hearing them read by the authors to the Vancouver Open Mic crowd must have been delightful and thought-provoking.

Although I have lived in Vancouver since 2017, I have never attended an Open Mic session and have not yet met Mr. Luna. I intend to attend my first Open Mic session in Vancouver in April of 2025.

This anthology was edited by Christopher Luna and Toni Partington in 2014.

After reading this book, I purchased “message from the vessel in a dream” authored by Mr. Luna. A very worthwhile purchase for me; reviewed elsewhere. Also, at the local Birdhouse Books bookstore, I purchased a new copy of “Ghost Town Poetry Open Mic: Volume Three, 2004-2024, edited by Chris Luna, Toni Lumbrazo Luna, and Morgan Paige, $20.00.

At 98 pages, this is the smallest chapbook of the three Open Mic anthologies. A very good bargain for a paperback on Amazon.

Book Reviews by Mike Garofalo

Tanka Poetry Books Reviews by Mike Garofalo

Amazon Reviews by Mike Garofalo:

The Tanka Anthology. Edited by Michael McClintock, Pamela Miller Ness, and Jim Kacian. 2023, 240 pages. 

Here is my Amazon review: "800 of the best tanka in English by 69 of its finest practitioners. This is an outstanding collection of Tanka poems in the English language. Easy to hold in one's hands, light, compact, good quality print and paper. Very good choices by the highly qualified editors. Most Tanka are in the minimalist style: lowercase, no punctuation, 5 lines. For a paperback, a bit expensive at $34, but worth the higher price. Includes biographies of the authors. No introduction. Good enough for many rereads!"

The Way of Tanka. By Naomi Beth Wakan. Shantee Arts LLC, 2017, 146 pages. $15.00. VSCL. 

Here is my Amazon review: "Tanka are brief 5 line poems, typically using 19-33 sound units, uncapitalized, with little punctuation. This is a good brief introduction and guide to the reading and writing of Tanka style poetry. Many fine Tanka are included and briefly analyzed. She provides a few insights into the proper construction of the Pivot Point, Turning Point, the Volta, the Twist, usually in the 3rd line. (I have added more comments on the Pivot Line above.) She emphasizes the importance of a dramatic and surprising phrase in the last 5th line. She makes clear that writing English language haiku cannot follow some Japanese Tanka standards or sensitivities because these two languages have many differences in the sound elements, homonyms, more rhyming in Hiragana, culture, and poetic heritage. The Tanka form has been used since 800 CE in Japan. She includes a few of her longer Tanka sequences. She discusses tanka collage, tanka montage, Haibun, McClintock's Taika, Kyoka tanka wit and humor, minimalist tanka, response/dialogue tankas, Ekphrastic tanka, love tankas, travel/place tanka, diary tanka, tanka strings, nostalgic tanka, tan renga, confessional tanka, and tanka sequences. Japanese terms like wabi, sari, aware - mono no aware, kyojo, makoto, shibusa, and kokora are briefly explained. Ms. Wakan provides a brief bibliography and lists of online resources. She talks about the authors that influenced her. A fine companion to The Tanka Anthology (Edited by McClintlock, Ness, and Kacian, 2023) or Four Decades on My Tanka Road: The Tanka Collections of Sanford Goldstein, 2012."

Four Decades on My Tanka Road: The Tanka Collections of Sanford Goldstein. By Sanford Goldstein. Edited by Fran M. Witham. Preface by Patricia Prime. Winfred Press, 327 pages, Second Edition, 2012.

Here is my Amazon Review: Selections from 6 of Professor Goldstein's books: This Tanka World, 1977; Gaijin Aesthetics, 1983; At the Hut of the Small Mind, 1992; Records of a Well-Polished Satchel, 1995; This Tanka World, 2001; and, Encounters in this Penny World, 2005. Includes a selective bibliography, and a biography of Professor Goldstein. Some introductory notes. Over 500 Tanka in this attractive anthology. Good paper and clear crisp print. $22, Paperback. VSCL. Professor Sanford Goldstein (1925-2023) is often called the "The Grandfather of English Tanka." These Tanka are nearly all in lower case, using only a comma or dash for punctuation, 5 concise lines, mostly free verse style. He includes more gritty, earthy, and intimate aspects of living. These poems reflect many of his experiences while living in Japan for decades. Sometimes, the stark brevity of the Tanka style can lead one to the edge of insight, but they are often too thin to hold up the pants of a deeper understanding."

Book Reviews by Mike Garofalo