Tweetspeak Poetry

  • Home
  • FREE prompts
  • National Poetry Month
  • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • Teaching Tools
  • Books, Etc.
  • Patron Love

Poets and Poems: Benjamin Myers at “The Family Book of Martyrs”

By Glynn Young Leave a Comment

Old barn Benjamin Myers The Family Book of Martyrs

Benjamin Myers looks at our fears, our hopes, and what we love

If I were asked to list my Top Ten favorite contemporary poets, I wouldn’t hesitate to include Benjamin Myers, a professor of literature at Oklahoma Baptist University. Myers’ poetry deeply resonates with my own history and understanding of the world. I can’t explain why, exactly. It’s not the familiar condition known as “echo chamber.” But his poems do seem familiar in a deep, personal sense.

I discovered this when I read his Elegy for Trains (2010) and Lapse Americana (2013). But it was his Black Sunday (2019) that really punched it home. With its poems about the Oklahoma Dust Bowl of the 1930s, I found myself not that far away, in northern Louisiana in the 1930s, reliving my own family history. And that’s the key — I can’t read his poetry without revisiting my own family.

Benjamin Myers

Benjamin Myers

His new collection, The Family Book of Martyrs, does exactly that. A relative uses his pellet gun to scare the dogs from doing their business in his yard; my uncle (by marriage) would sit on his back stoop with a .22 rifle, taking pot shots at the cats daring to leap over his fence. The cats belonged to the next-door neighbor, who happened to be his oldest son’s in-laws. And Myers writes about his grandfather’s workshop, sitting dusty and no longer used. The workshop of the grandfather I never knew sat silent, dust-covered, and unused; it told me two things, that he was a good carpenter, and he had a penchant for drinking things that came in glass bottles.

That’s what these poems do. Myers moves you from his words on his page to your life in your memory. It’s not an easy feat. The epiphany comes when you realize he’s writing about the things in life that matter — not the latest outrage from Washington or the latest viral craze on TikTok, but family, work, love, faith, children, spouse, the people who have come before you, and the people who will come after. It’s your hopes and your fears, which are often the two sides of the same coin. And Myers displays a sense of understanding — and, with that, gratitude.

Historical Markers

Myers The Family Book of MartyrsMy father stopped at every one of them,
a need to know that drove us nuts and slowed
our progress toward the lake. We stood in sweat,
lurking like hitchers by the asphalt road.

The Battle of the Washita; the birth
place of Will Rogers; any church or shoot-
out that one might say mattered stopped us cold
beside the crumbling shoulder of old Route

66. So I’d drag my teenage self
out of the car to nudge the shoulder rocks
with white-toed Converse tips and stand there half
enthused while trying to look bored. Those talks

about the past beside the highway strip
are past now too, my father gone, the darker
years since a road I drive as it gets late,
squinting into the dusk to find a marker.

Myers has published four poetry collections and a book of poetics and has written numerous articles, essays, and reviews. His poems have been published in Image, The Yale Review, Modern Age, Measure, The Christian Century, and other publications. From 2015 to 2016, her served as the poet laureate of Oklahoma. He also directs the Great Books Honors Program at Oklahoma Baptist University.

I read The Family Book of Martyrs, and I think of my own family. I remember family vacations and how we never stopped for historical markers; we were lucky if my father stopped for a bathroom break (my mother never forgot, or forgave, that “drive in Tennessee”). I think about my aunt’s made-from-scratch biscuits, my uncle shouting at the Lawrence Welk Show, and my grandmother, sitting quietly on a Saturday night, writing the lessons for her Sunday School class in her little black-leather notebook. I watch my grandsons shoot hoops with all the grit and determination of aspiring professional basketball players.

And I feel gratitude. That’s what Benjamin Myers and his poetry evokes.

Related:

The Submerged Depths of Lapse Americana

Benjamin Myers and Black Sunday

Pinocchio in Nineveh: Benjamin Myers and Elegy for Trains

Photo by Andrew Kuznetsov, Creative Commons, via Flickr. Post by Glynn Young.

Browse more book reviews

How to Read a Poem by Tania Runyan

5 star

Buy How to Read a Poem Now!

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

  • 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)
  • Poets and Poems: Sydell Rosenberg & Amy Losak and “Wing Strokes Haiku” - March 21, 2023
  • Looking for the Poetry in Vermeer, a Blockbuster of an Art Exhibition - March 17, 2023
  • An Updated Take on Keats’s Odes by Anahid Nersessian - March 14, 2023

Filed Under: article, book reviews, Books, Family Poems, Memory, Poems, poetry, poetry reviews, Poets

Get Every Day Poems...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

Cute Comic

😊

The Sadbook Collections

A stick-figure human sure to capture your heart.

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 March Menu.

Patron Love

❤️

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

Now a Graphic Novel!

"Stunning, heartbreaking, and relevant illustrations"

Callie Feyen, teacher

read a summary of The Yellow Wallpaper

meet The Yellow Wallpaper characters

Your Comments

  • Sharmen Oswald on Poetry Prompt: Found in the Library
  • John Davis Jr. on Poetry Prompt: Found in the Library
  • Sharmen Oswald on Poetry Prompt: Found in the Library
  • Sharmen Oswald on Poetry Prompt: Found in the Library

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

Coloring Page Poem Printables!

Get all free coloring page poems now

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
  • • How to Write Form Poems-Infographics
  • • Poetry Club Tea Date
  • • Poetry Prompts
  • • Submissions

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