Anita Diamant: Read more poetry

Each month, we ask an Indiana Humanities friend or partner how they think, read and talk. We feature that someone in the “How do you identify with the humanities” section of our e-newsletter. This month, it’s Anita Diamant, an author and freelance journalist who will be taking part in Spirit & Place’s Public Conversation on Nov. 13. The annual closing dialogue for the festival received a Humanities Initiative Grant.

I often Think about what I’d be reading if I didn’t have a book to write, but I can never think of a single title when people ask me what I’m reading now. “Think before you talk,” I tell myself, and I’m better at doing that than I used to be… I think.

I should always Read more poetry. I love the short lines and the economy of language and reading poetry slows me down. Mostly I read American poets: Emily Dickenson, Walt Whitman, William Carlos Williams, Pablo Neruda, (South American), Billy Collins, Mary Oliver.

Talk to me, preferably over a really good meal when there’s no rush. Talk to me about what really lights up your circuits and about the last best book you read. And then let me talk to you about things that matter. (That can include your favorite TV show, too.) We should think of good questions to ask and then listen to each other’s answers.

To learn more about the Public Conversation, which also features Kareem Abdul-Jabaar and Thomas Lynch, click here.