Ask Me

"In our time there has been no poet who revived human hearts and spirits more convincingly than William Stafford." --Naomi Shihab Nye
Some time when the river is ice ask me
mistakes I have made. Ask me whether
what I have done is my life.
--from "Ask Me" In celebration of the poet's centennial, "Ask Me" collects one hundred of William Stafford's essential poems. As a conscientious objector during World War II, while assigned to Civilian Public Service camps Stafford began his daily writing practice, a lifelong early-morning ritual of witness. His poetry reveals the consequences of violence, the daily necessity of moral decisions, and the bounty of art. Selected and with a note by Kim Stafford, "Ask Me" presents the best from a profound and original American voice.