One of the most profound duties of child to parent is to honor their last wishes, as best we can. In "Their Bodies," poet David Wagoner addresses the students of the anatomy lab at Indiana University, where his parents donated their bodies.
Wagoner is the author of more than 20 collections of poetry and 10 novels. Over the past 60 years his work has appeared in Best American Poetry, The New Yorker, The Writer's Almanac and many other publications and anthologies. Wagoner is professor emeritus of the University of Washington, and edited the influential literary magazine Poetry Northwest for 36 years.
"Their Bodies" was originally published in Poetry Magazine (read the poem).
His reading was recorded on January 16, 2013 at Benaroya Hall as part of the Seattle Arts and Lectures Poetry Series.
