Uwishunu.com

The Schuylkill river is an essential part of Philadelphia’s geography, making a stately entrance along boathouse row before tumbling down past the Philadelphia Museum of Art to divide Center City from University City. In my life, the river is a daily companion as I ride my bike along Kelly Drive, racing early morning rowers and dodging geese, joggers and a few low-hanging tree limbs. The Schuylkill feels familiar and friendly, even though I can barely spell the word and I’d never even consider swimming in the water. But from whence does the river flow, and to where? How has history treated the Schuylkill?

These questions–and many answers–came into my hands today when I received a copy of Beth Kephart’s newly released book of poetry entitled, Flow: The Life and Times of Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River, published by Temple University Press.

A widely published Philly writer, Kephart goes beyond writing poems about the river and instead writes poems by the river. The top half of each page is a freeverse lyric poem from the perspective of the Schuylkill, and the bottom of each page is the historical anecdote that inspired the poem. It’s an interesting move that is startling to me in its directness–the poems are in a sense “explained” by the notes and we’re left to enjoy the words and images without having to wonder exactly what inspired them. The narrative connections are unusually clear for poetry, and I think this will be very appealing to readers who are annoyed by overly cryptic verses. The book could certainly be read straight through with just the poetry and it would be a rewarding experience, but the historical tidbits make the book into something that speaks its own hybrid language, instructive and luxurious.

I’ll see the Schuylkill differently on my ride home tonight, and maybe it’ll be a closer friend from now on.

Here’s an excerpt from the book. Better yet, you can buy the book here. Enjoy!