POETRY: “Sleeping It Off In Rapid City” by August Kleinzahler — It was the title that grabbed my attention. I’ve lived in Rapid City for almost 27 years, and I wondered if the poet was referring to MY Rapid City. It turns out he was. The title poem is a virtual tour of the Black Hills, starting with downtown Rapid City, where I spend my days in the building at the corner of Fifth and Main streets. Kleinzahler’s observations are on-target and have the strong flavor of Whitman. The rest of the volume has its moments, too — check out “Peaches in November,” “Watching Dogwood Blossoms Fall in a Parking Lot of Route 46″ and “The Swimmer.”

NONFICTION: “Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul” by Erwin Raphael McManus — This has been the current study of a small group at my church. McManus proposes that the Christian church needs people who live out the teachings of Jesus, not just show up to hear about them on Sunday mornings. That means leading out of a sense of humility, living life filled with gratitude and generosity, and finding wisdom though faithfulness and perseverance.

POETRY: “Niagara Falls,” by Kay Ryan

This is the first collection I’ve read from the current U.S. poet laureate, and I enjoyed it. Her succinct style lets the poems say only what they need to.  The short lengths also lend to re-reading to fully absorb the poem.

Fiction: “The Sun Also Rises,” by Ernest Hemingway. I’ll admit that whenever I have read Hemingway, I come away feeling like the reading was too easy and that I didn’t get anything out of it. But after a few days or a week, I catch myself still thinking about the story. “The Sun Also Rises” was that way for me.

I think that culturally the reader is supposed to get something out of the descriptions of bullfighting and a feel for the expatriate life. Nothing too dramatic, at least by today’s standards, really happens in the story. But Hemingway’s tale is told well, and there certainly is more on the page than you immediately realize.

Nonfiction: “The Case for Christ,” by Lee Strobel. This is the story of an atheist, Strobel,  who was a legal reporter in Chicago. His wife became a Christian, and he set out to disprove her belief. But his journalistic investigation led him to conclude that Jesus was who he said he was — God. The book has some very interesting evidence and offers reasonable logic.

POETRY: A Flower Whose Name I Do Not Know, David Romtvedt

POETRY: A Prairie Prayer, Bruce Roseland

POETRY: Finding the Gossamer, Patrick Hicks

POETRY: Iktomi’s Uprising, Luke Warm Water.

Romtevedt is Wyoming’s poet laureate. A Flower Whose Name I Do Not Know was his first collection when it came out in 1991 or 1992. It was a National Poetry Series selection in 1991. The other three are poets who live in South Dakota. Luke Warm Water is an Oglala poet raised in Rapid City. Roseland ranches near Seneca. And Patrick Hicks is a professor at Augustana College in Sioux Falls. I’m trying to arrange interviews with each of them in the coming weeks. In the meantime, each of their books is worth a read. Warm Water’s collection  challenges the racism — both overt and inherent — that American Indian people experience here. Roseland seeks to preserve the dying way of life of ranchers. And Hicks’ poems are well-traveled with keen personal insights.

Fiction: “The Cold Dish,” by Craig Johnson. I met Johnson at a writers conference in Hot Springs, SD, in March. He read from his books, and I was intrigued enough to check out the first in his series of mystery novels featuring Sheriff Walt Longmire. Johnson is from Ucross, Wyoming, and his novels are set there. He mentions Rapid City and Deadwood, SD, in the story so there’s a local connection that I liked reading about. “The Cold Dish” is an interesting tale with an unforeseeable twist at the end, which I’m finding myself still contemplating. The next in the series is “Death Without Company,” and I intend to keep reading.

Poetry: “Shedding Skins: Four Sioux Poets,” edited by Adrian C. Louis. This anthology offers selections of the work of four American Indian poets — Trevino L. Brings Plenty, Joel Waters, Steve Pacheco and Luke Warm Water. Louis, Brings Plenty, Waters and Warm Water have ties to South Dakota. The book tries to dispel some of the stereotypes people hold about Indians and to illuminate the societal hardships Indian s experience. You won’t find poetry about hunting, fishing and animal spirits. But you will be confronted with homelessness, loneliness, despair and decay. I’ve seen Warm Water perform at a poetry slam, and his work reads like it is intended to be heard aloud. Brings Plenty has a powerful voice, and I’d like to read more from all four.

Poetry: The Bull Rider’s Advice: New and Selected Poems, by David Allan Evans

As I’ve said before, Evans, South Dakota poet laureate, is one of the reasons I am a poet today. This collection comprises poems from his books spanning from 1976 to 2000. It also has a section of new poems that have the feel of cleaning up unfinished business. That makes me look forward to what he has coming up next. I’d recommend The Bull Rider’s Advice to anyone looking for an overview of the poet’s career. But his best books, in my estimation, are Train Windows (1976) and Hanging Out With the Crows (1991).

Nonfiction: Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. After I finally saw the movie, I wanted to read the book. I’ve always had some of the idealism and wanderlust the Chris McCandless seems to have had, so I though I’d identify with his quest, which led him into the Alaskan wilderness. But the irony of the story is that he may never have gotten there without the people he met along his journey.

Short fiction:  To Build a Fire by Jack London. The Krakauer book, along with a recent cold snap, prompted me to pull out my old collection of London’s works. This story of a man out on the frigid trail with his dog illustrates human arrogance in the face of nature.

Poetry: Blues If You Want by William Matthews — Interesting stuff. It seems like Matthews was underrated in his day. You don’t hear too much about him in poetry circles. Or maybe I’m just in the wrong circles.

Satirical nonfiction: The Rock Snob’s Dictionary – This handy reference guide helps you bone up on the arcane knowledge spouted by music snobs everywhere. It’s meant to be satire, but it also is an actual dictionary of terms and people from the world of rock n roll. I’ve learned a lot and will now have a fighting chance against the snobs I encounter in my daily life.

Poetry: “Letters to Wendy’s,” by Joe Wenderoth

The author collects his wide-ranging ruminations inspired by the fast-food eatery. Funny, inspiring and yet quite dirty.

Nonfiction: “The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming,” by Henri J.M.  Nouwen

This is the author’s insights after viewing the Rembrandt painting referred to in the title. In the painting’s finest details, Nouwen maps out a journey to God — the wayward son who returns repentant to his father, the resentful elder son who cannot grasp the fullness of his father’s love, and the father who loves regardless of his son’s shortcomings.