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Pam

  • called me long distance at midnight
  • woke me and told me
  • her father died in the hospital that evening
  • died while talking with her stepmom
  • in mid-laugh
  • she cried a bit
  • on her way to being bombed/a little booze
  • to lose the blues and memory, shares
  • that birthday party
  • the time i read the poems with the 4 letter words
  • and how her blind raven haired diabetic
  • dad of french and latin descent
  • liked me a lot less
  • tonight it is this recollection
  • transmitting warmth north
  • along the hot thin wires of hurt
  • i hear her smile and the slight slur says
  • she’ll be okay in the good morning
Wanda Coleman

Wanda Coleman is a well-known American poet who has published 18 books of poetry and fiction, including Bathwater Wine, for which she won the 1999 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize (the first African-American woman to receive that award). Her collection Mercurochrome was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2001. A seminal figure of literary L.A., her honors include Guggenheim Foundation and NEA fellowships and, most recently, the 2012 Shelley Memorial Award. Her new collection of poems, The World Falls Away, was published by the University of Pittsburgh Press. “Pam” is from Coleman’s collection Imagoes, published by Black Sparrow Press. It is reprinted here by permission.

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  • called me long distance at midnight
  • woke me and told me
  • her father died in the hospital that evening
  • died while talking with her stepmom
  • in mid-laugh
  • she cried a bit
  • on her way to being bombed/a little booze
  • to lose the blues and memory, shares
  • that birthday party
  • the time i read the poems with the 4 letter words
  • and how her blind raven haired diabetic
  • dad of french and latin descent
  • liked me a lot less
  • tonight it is this recollection
  • transmitting warmth north
  • along the hot thin wires of hurt
  • i hear her smile and the slight slur says
  • she’ll be okay in the good morning
Wanda Coleman

Wanda Coleman is a well-known American poet who has published 18 books of poetry and fiction, including Bathwater Wine, for which she won the 1999 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize (the first African-American woman to receive that award). Her collection Mercurochrome was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2001. A seminal figure of literary L.A., her honors include Guggenheim Foundation and NEA fellowships and, most recently, the 2012 Shelley Memorial Award. Her new collection of poems, The World Falls Away, was published by the University of Pittsburgh Press. “Pam” is from Coleman’s collection Imagoes, published by Black Sparrow Press. It is reprinted here by permission.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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