This all-new collection by former Alaska poet laureate smoothly blends his life in Maine, his years in Alaska, and his love of Chinese poetry – which has been a key influence on his work – into a lyrical fantasy that will enchant lovers of verse. These tightly rhythmic, compact eight-line poems demonstrate a rare deftness with – and an even more uncommon ear for – language, revealing poetic form to be neither a puzzle nor an accomplishment in itself, but a compositional tool and a spur to creativity.
About the Author
Tom Sexton is professor emeritus of English at the University of Alaska Anchorage and was Alaska's Poet laureate from 1994 until 2000. He is the author of several collections of poetry including "For the Sake of the Light and I Think Again of Those Ancient Chinese Poets", both from the University of Alaska Press.
Reviews
"This is a book to be read and returned to. There are fine poems here, all from the hand of someone who for many years has read and listened to the enduring voice of ancient Chinese poets. We have here the result of that attention" – John Haines, former poet laureate of Alaska
"In these poems, Tom Sexton weaves ancient Chinese poetry with an Alaska back country he knows intimately. The poems have teeth, and just when we feel them against our necks, we're given a moment of reprieve, a moment of sweetness. These poems make you catch your breath over and over again" – Emily Wall, author of "Freshly Rooted"
"Tom Sexton's front door opens into the universe. In the company of ancient Chinese poets he generously invites us to step out with him to see how stars, moon, tides, and time connect with yellow warblers, wild berries, dragonflies, and weather to give us meaning... These poems are as wise and important as they are lovely" – Sheila Nickerson, former poet laureate of Alaska
"'Why spend our lives longing for another world?' Tom Sexton's new collection of poems asks both literally and rhetorically. These enchanting lyrics show us we have world enough right here, right now, in language and in the world, inhabiting and creating landscapes from Alaska to Maine and back again, capturing light in the process and holding images of the world up for us to see clearly, as if for the first time" – Derick Burleson, author of "Ejo" and "Never Night"
