101 Books, Number 69

Favorite Books from Throughout My Life

69: them, 1969, by Joyce Carol Oates (1938–)

This was the year I married—yes,

In 1969.

I found this book—consumed it all—

A fish hooked on her line.

I’ve read a lot of Oates since then—

Not all, I must admit.

Reviewed a few and bought most all—

I’ve never tired of it.

She’s learned the way inside, I’ve seen,

The human mind and heart,

And she records the music there—

Each bright, each gloomy part.

She well deserves the Nobel Prize—

I’ve written this before.

She's probed the human heart and soul—

And knows them, to the core.