I was very saddened to learn this week that the poet Dean Young, whose work I’ve admired over the past several years, is in desperate need of a heart transplant, following a decade or more of living with a degenerative heart condition. Fellow poet Tony Hoagland wrote quite eloquently about Mr. Young’s situation here, at the National Foundation for Transplants, and I join him in urging anyone who is able to make a financial gift toward the monumental costs this transplant will incur.

Finally, here’s an exquisite poem, perhaps one apropos of the current situation, from Dean Young’s 2008 collection, Primitive Mentor.

Edit: shortly after I posted this blog entry, a friend directed me to this letter from Young to his nephew. Even if you’re not familiar with Dean Young’s poetry, if you’re a writer, you should read this.