What Can the Matter Be?
Will be published approx. on 6. August 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
88 pages
978-0-8143-5140-6 (ISBN)
Description
Enduring poems that distill hope from despair, love from sorrow, and courage from ambivalence.
In this spare and elegant collection, distinguished poet Keith Taylor demonstrates his finest power of observation, watching the natural and human world go by. What Can the Matter Be? considers aging and death-of the self, of animals, of the earth-as well as place, and how rootedness in place allows a sturdy vantage point from which to see and reflect on the wider world. In poems and prose both grave and gleeful, Taylor controls the line and the lyric with experience and care. His curiosity and admiration for nature shine through in poems such as "Under Their Mortal Glory" and "The Gleaners," while "Responsibilities" and "That Room in Alberta" contrast the minutia of individually lived moments against the global, uncontrollable decay of nature and societies. And then there are moments of sheer delight, as in "Twenty-Three Nuns on Warren Road." Together, these nuanced and often surprising works urge empathy and call out in sorrow, love, and hope for the world.
In this spare and elegant collection, distinguished poet Keith Taylor demonstrates his finest power of observation, watching the natural and human world go by. What Can the Matter Be? considers aging and death-of the self, of animals, of the earth-as well as place, and how rootedness in place allows a sturdy vantage point from which to see and reflect on the wider world. In poems and prose both grave and gleeful, Taylor controls the line and the lyric with experience and care. His curiosity and admiration for nature shine through in poems such as "Under Their Mortal Glory" and "The Gleaners," while "Responsibilities" and "That Room in Alberta" contrast the minutia of individually lived moments against the global, uncontrollable decay of nature and societies. And then there are moments of sheer delight, as in "Twenty-Three Nuns on Warren Road." Together, these nuanced and often surprising works urge empathy and call out in sorrow, love, and hope for the world.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Detroit, MI
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 7 mm
Weight
104 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8143-5140-6 (9780814351406)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Keith Taylor worked as a bookseller for many years and taught in writing programs at the University of Michigan. His poems and prose have been published widely, including twenty poetry collections and chapbooks. Taylor retired from teaching in 2018, and in 2022, he was named A. L. Becker Collegiate Lecturer Emeritus and Lecturer IV Emeritus by the Regents of the University of Michigan.