To Begin With, Feel Fortunate was written in part in the chaotic year

running up to the election of the new president and is a passionate

analysis of how we got to where we are as a nation, and what may be

in store for us. As Peter has said in an interview, "You have to remember

that even the poets who live in garrets are citizens, and I

urge them to use their voices and partake in the actual goings-on of

our country." Like William Meredith, who was a good friend in the

old days, Meinke's work is not written from the ivory tower. Like

Meredith, he feels writers and intellectuals have an obligation to

speak the truth and shame the devil. And if poetry and prose are to

be useful in our lives, they must first of all be honest or otherwise

risk being merely window dressing in a fancy American living room.

Critics have argued that poetry fails to the exact extent it attempts

to be didactic. And though he is a teacher and has lived to see much

change in this country, Meinke's work does not attempt to preach.

It's the voice of a really nice guy you'd like to have a beer with at the

local pub to hash out whatever you have on your mind: the world series,

the future of the stock market, the state of the union. He would

never consider his fellow citizens "deplorable" and admires the hardworking,

middle-class as well as poets who celebrate their life, like

Philip Levine and yes, Bob Dylan.