Tweetspeak Poetry

  • Home
  • FREE prompts
  • Earth Song
  • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • Teaching Tools
  • Books, Etc.
  • Patron Love

Poets and Poems: Karen Paul Holmes and “No Such Thing as Distance”

By Glynn Young 2 Comments

Mountain sunrise Karen Paul Holmes

Imagine a man whose country is taken over—and he’s forced to change his name so that it sounds like one belonging to the new political power. Imagine that same man emigrating to America, and once again having his name changed to sound less “foreign” and more pronounceable, at least for the immigration official. Imagine that man accepting the last change in his name and getting on with his life in his new country.

This is part of the story Karen Paul Holmes tells in her new poetry collection, No Such Thing as Distance. And the man with the three names is her father.

This sense of change of family pervades the 46 poems of the collection. She writes of other things, but it is her family poems—about relatives, her father, herself, her children—that provide the structure of the poems. If there’s any doubt about where Holmes’s head and heart are, simply consider the four Macedonian family recipes she includes at the end—for zelnik (an onion and filo pastry dish), a family interpretation of the Coney Island hot dog, Macedonian bean soup, and finikia, also known as Aunt Vera’s Cinnamon Cookies.

When it comes to family, there is indeed no such thing as distance. For a brother’s illness and surgery, Holmes flies from Georgia to New York and lives in his home, almost living his life because he is family, as he recovers.

Philip’s Bed

No Such Thing as Distance by Karen Paul HolmesWhen a brother has cancer surgery
you feel the scalpel too.
No blood, just hot pain
body and spirit.
And yet you don’t.
Can only imagine your own
meager misfortunes
multiplied, multiplied.

Fly north to be with him.
While he sleeps at Sloan Kettering
you lie on his Jane Street bed
but can’t crawl into his fear.
Boil his kettle, sip his Jasmine tea
splash your face at his sink
see a likeness in his mirror.
You take the subway uptown
a bus across Central Park
walk a bit down York
to sit by his side.

Karen Paul Holmes

Karen Paul Holmes

Holmes is the author of Untying the Knot (2014), a collection of poems focusing on the breakup of her marriage. Her poems have been published in a number of literary journals, including Prairie Schooner, Crab Orchard Review, Poetry East, Atlanta Review, the Southern Poetry Anthology, and Poet Lore. She was formerly vice president of Communications at a global financial services company and is now a freelance business writer and writing teacher; her web site is Karen Paul Holmes.

Holmes writes of weddings, her own and others; living in the American South; making zelnik for a family reunion (and thus the recipe); her mother’s funeral; her miscarriages; her childhood; and more. She writes what of she knows in No Such Thing as Distance, but more than that, she writes of what she loves.

Related:

Poetic Voices: Karen Paul Holmes and Claire Trevien

Photo by Donnie Nunley, Creative Commons, via Flickr. Post by Glynn Young, author of the novels Dancing Priest, A Light Shining, and the newly published Dancing King, and Poetry at Work.

Browse more book reviews

Browse more poets and poems

__________________________

How to Read a Poem by Tania Runyan How to Read a Poem uses images like the mouse, the hive, the switch (from the Billy Collins poem)-to guide readers into new ways of understanding poems. Anthology included.

“I require all our incoming poetry students-in the MFA I direct-to buy and read this book.”

-Jeanetta Calhoun Mish

Buy How to Read a Poem Now!

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Glynn Young
Follow Glynn
Glynn Young
Editor and Twitter-Party-Cool-Poem-Weaver at Tweetspeak Poetry
Glynn Young lives in St. Louis where he retired as the team leader for Online Strategy & Communications for a Fortune 500 company. Glynn writes poetry, short stories and fiction, and he loves to bike. He is the author of Poetry at Work and the Dancing Priest Series. Find Glynn at Faith, Fiction, Friends.
Glynn Young
Follow Glynn
Latest posts by Glynn Young (see all)
  • Do You Remember the First Poetry Book You Bought? - September 26, 2023
  • Poets and Poems: Yvor Winters and “Selected Poems” - September 19, 2023
  • “The Battle of Maldon” by J.R.R Tolkien, Edited by Peter Grybauskas - September 12, 2023

Filed Under: article, Family Poems, Family Ties, Poems, poetry reviews, Poets

Get Every Day Poems...

Comments

  1. Katie says

    April 12, 2018 at 10:22 pm

    Glynn,
    I am thankful to have read this post for these reasons:

    1. Seeing the brilliantly beautiful image of the sky with mountains below
    2. reading this: “When it comes to family, there is indeed no such thing as distance.”
    3. Seeing the image of the front cover of Karen Paul Holmes poetry collection.

    I had nearly despaired of ever finding a poetry collection with a colorful and pretty cover. It seems every time I follow a link to a poetry title I am less than whelmed at the image. What a delight to see one that appears hopeful at last:)

    Gratefully,
    Katie

    Reply
  2. Bethany R. says

    April 16, 2018 at 3:37 pm

    It is a gorgeous cover, Katie. 🙂

    Thanks for introducing me to this poet. The poem you featured here does such a powerful job of communicating how you can be physically and even genetically close to someone, and still maintain a gap of knowledge of their full pain and experience. But yes, I see that love you mention, in that she (or the speaker) still extends herself toward her brother to be alongside him.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For the Writer in You

Take How to Read a Poem

Get the Introduction, the Billy Collins poem, and Chapter 1

get the sample now

Welcome to Tweetspeak

New to Tweetspeak Poetry? Start here, in The Mischief Café. You're a regular? Check out our September Menu.

Patron Love

❤️

Welcome a little patron love, when you help keep the world poetic.

Your Comments

  • Do You Remember the First Poetry Book You Bought? - Tweetspeak Poetry on T.S. Eliot at the British Library, Part 1
  • Bethany on Poetry Prompt: Back to School, in the Second Person
  • Megan Wheeler on Poetry Prompt: Back to School, in the Second Person
  • Bethany R. on Poetry Club: Coffee Shop Collage—”Do the Shells Still Hear”

Join the Year of the Monarch

How to Write Poetry

Featured In

We're happy to have been featured in...

The Huffington Post

The Paris Review

The New York Observer

Tumblr Book News

Stay in Touch With Us

Categories

Learn to Write Form Poems

How to Write an Acrostic

How to Write a Ballad

How to Write a Catalog Poem

How to Write a Ghazal

How to Write a Haiku

How to Write an Ode

How to Write a Pantoum

How to Write a Rondeau

How to Write a Sestina

How to Write a Sonnet

How to Write a Villanelle

5 FREE POETRY PROMPTS

Get 5 FREE inbox poetry prompts from the popular book How to Write a Poem

Shakespeare Resources

Poetry Classroom: Sonnet 18

Common Core Picture Poems: Sonnet 73

Sonnet 104 Annotated

Sonnet 116 Annotated

Character Analysis: Romeo and Juliet

Character Analysis: Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?

Why Does Hamlet Wait to Kill the King?

10 Fun Shakespeare Resources

About Shakespeare: Poet and Playwright

Top 10 Shakespeare Sonnets

See all 154 Shakespeare sonnets in our Shakespeare Library!

Explore Work From Black Poets

About Us

  • • A Blessing for Writers
  • • Annual Theme 2022: Perspective
  • • Annual Theme 2021: Generous
  • • Our Story
  • • Meet Our Team
  • • Literary Citizenship
  • • Poet Laura
  • • Poetry for Life: The 5 Vital Approaches
  • • T. S. Poetry Press – All Books
  • • Contact Us

Write With Us

  • • 5 FREE Poetry Prompts-Inbox Delivery
  • • 30 Days to Richer Writing Workshop
  • • Poetry Prompts
  • • Submissions
  • • The Write to Poetry

Read With Us

  • • All Our Books
  • • Book Club
  • • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • • Literacy Extras
  • • Poems to Listen By: Audio Series
  • • Poet-a-Day
  • • Poets and Poems
  • • 50 States Projects
  • • Charlotte Perkins Gilman Poems Library
  • • Edgar Allan Poe Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Blake Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Shakespeare Sonnet Library

Celebrate With Us

  • • Poem on Your Pillow Day
  • • Poetic Earth Month
  • • Poet in a Cupcake Day
  • • Poetry at Work Day
  • • Random Acts of Poetry Day
  • • Take Your Poet to School Week
  • • Take Your Poet to Work Day

Gift Ideas

  • • Every Day Poems
  • • Our Shop
  • • Everybody Loves a Book!

Connect

  • • Donate
  • • Blog Buttons
  • • By Heart
  • • Shop for Tweetspeak Fun Stuff

Copyright © 2023 Tweetspeak Poetry · FAQ, Disclosure & Privacy Policy

We serve poetry with our cookies. Because that's the way it should be.
We serve poetry with your cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you... accept the cookies with a smile.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
update cookie prefs

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT