Carnegie Mellon University Books

I met Jane McCafferty a few months back, and she seemed like a real decent person, so I figured I'd give her writing a shot. I am so glad I did. In story after story, McCafferty beautifully captures the sadness and loss that haunts so many of us, and our attempts to wear a brave face, to keep the darkness at bay. She uses plainspoken language and populates her tales with recognizable characters, details, and emotions, with a car radio often supplying the soundtrack. I was totally impressed, and can't wait to read more of her work.

I pulled this off my shelf to dig up a passage that I wanted to e-mail to a friend, and ended up rereading the whole thing. Within a page each story transports me to a place, floating unseen right next to the main character, not reading a story but witnessing a piece out of some people's lives. Some of my favorite stories here play variations on the theme of one of life's most dizzying universals: the times when someone who you thought was going to be walking beside you the rest of your life goes away, and even if you might eventually see them again it'll never be the same between you. Kids watch parents disappear into mental breakdown. A divorced mom packs her kids up for an impromptu road trip to try (for a little while)to outrun the fact that dad is off somewhere making a new life with somebody else. An alcoholic, estranged dad witnesses one night in the long friendship of two women as he digests the knowledge that his young daughter isn't ready to come see him just yet. Two inseparable adolescent girls' friendship vaporizes in an all-too-common way. McCafferty's compassion is palpable, her eye for detail unerring. And I'd be saying all this even if I'd never met and spent time with the author over a very happy summer nearly 20 years ago. Publication couldn't happen to a nicer person...

This is one of the best books i have ever read. These collection of Ms. McCafferty's short stories is spectatcular.

Mekeel McBride is a wonderful poet. Her works are lyrical and generous and immediate. She speaks to the complexity and mystery of life but never ever ponderously. This work, as the title says, is a selection from her previous collections as well as new material, and she just gets better and better. Who else can write a poem about a man who wants to be a redbird -- and have that poem be the best love poem I've seen in a long time.

Praising Mekeel McBride on the New Hampshire Seacoast, especially among poets, is entirely unnecessary. Rarely has a human being been more appropriately attached to a craft. She is famous here as a strong poet and -- such an unbelievably extraordinary thing -- a teacher of strong poets. Here is lean poetry, focussed poetry, powerful narratives well told in shimmering language. And here is the unexpecteed twist, the final flourish that makes short lyrics unfogettable and eludes most of their authors. If McBride ever had the gift of gab that might be deduced from her name, it is clearly bleached out of her by the winter sun and the summer sea. And what is left is truly beautiful, truly human. Most amazing to me: the presence of the ghost of her father in "I Don't Know How," the evocation of her aunt Romaine on driving past "The Foxy Romaine Produce Box," the truly magical story of the mailman who is forbidden to read Westerns between deliveries in "Dreaming Space Awake," and the 80-year-old who finally achieves her unsuccessful childhood attempts to turn herself blue by glutting herself on blueberries in "How Spring Appears This Time of Year in New England." But don't let my taste prejudice you. Here is a well practiced artisan. You are likely to be equally passionate about four very different poems here. But you'll have to read the book first.

Fallen From A Chariot is a collection of original free-verse poems by Laughlin Award finalist Kevin Prufer. A dark- themed collection, most of its poems deal with death that comes tragic, sudden, or murderous ways, from ancient to modern times; mourning those who have passed, reflecting on the brief and transitory nature of life, the sepulchral words of ghosts, and more. Narcissist Elegy: The little black gun where my heart should be / fired and fired until, / like yours, it stopped. And such a pause in my chest, / my ribs grown steel and the cave all dark, grown barred - / The hammer / clicked and the gun just sparked.

Fallen From A Chariot is a collection of original free-verse poems by Laughlin Award finalist Kevin Prufer. A dark- themed collection, most of its poems deal with death that comes tragic, sudden, or murderous ways, from ancient to modern times; mourning those who have passed, reflecting on the brief and transitory nature of life, the sepulchral words of ghosts, and more. Narcissist Elegy: The little black gun where my heart should be / fired and fired until, / like yours, it stopped. And such a pause in my chest, / my ribs grown steel and the cave all dark, grown barred - / The hammer / clicked and the gun just sparked.

Far and Away was a breathtaking novel that told the story of a young girl, whom travels to America from Ireland in pursuit of land. The book takes place during the time farmer tenants, in Ireland, were revolting against the Irish lanlords.Shanon and Joseph find themselves batteling oppertunity and poverty and in the end they meet again during the Oklahoma land rush, in pursuit of land.

Far and Away was a breathtaking novel that told the story of a young girl, whom travels to America from Ireland in pursuit of land. The book takes place during the time farmer tenants, in Ireland, were revolting against the Irish lanlords.Shanon and Joseph find themselves batteling oppertunity and poverty and in the end they meet again during the Oklahoma land rush, in pursuit of land.

Sign me up to the above review. This guy is smart, has a great ear, and writes with an uncanny sense of form. Raise your hands if you can name five other American poets of whom that could honestly be said.

James Richardson ought to be much, much better-known than he is. His last book, "As If," was one of the most beautiful poetry collections of the Nineties. Let's hope that "How Things Are" gets him the recognition the world owes him. He is among the wittiest poets writing today -- just read his animal poems, especially "For the Squirrels" and "Mothy Ode" -- these are laugh-out-loud funny poems (a rarity in any historical age.) His longer "How Things Are" (Suite for Lucretians) and "Under Water" are both excellent -- if you read the Yale Review or the Quarterly Review of Literature you may be acquainted with earlier versions. And the final section is both majestic and precise, doing for New Jersey what some of Robert Hass's poetic sequences have done for Northern California. Every era has its great unknown poets, and there's no doubt in my mind that James Richardson is one of ours.

Richard Hugo's voice and world view are entirely his own. If you like one or two of his poems, you'll like most of them. This book is the best place to start.

Richard Hugo, The Lady in Kicking Horse Reservoir

Two decades after Hugo's early death, he's finally starting to get the recognition he deserves as one of the twentieth century's masters of poetry. His output was sparse, starting relatively late in his life and covering less than a half-dozen books of poetry, along with a few other prose books. But what little there was was some of the best American poetry ever written.

Hugo writes with a rhythm and style that compares best to novelist Cormac McCarthy; it's a little difficult getting over the first hump, but once you've settled into his diction, everything inside is magic.

I got three bulls and a native cutthroat, lover.
I'm phoning from the bar in Victor.
One drunk's fading fast. The other's fast
with information-- worms don't work in August.I found
a virgin forest with a moss floor.
You and I can love there. Pack the food....
(from "Phoning from Sweathouse Creek")

The book is divided into four parts, two of which focus on one of Hugo's trips to Europe, and two on Montana. There is a strong sense of place in this work, a connection to the culture, however long-dead, of what Hugo is writing about. It's all excellent, every last line. One of the best books of poetry I've read in years. **** 1/2

I have always been impressed with poets who are not only good and prolific at what they do, but also attempt a greater project--an idea of more significant proportions than can be encompassed in a single poem, or even in a small group of poems; one that perhaps requires and entire volume of poetry to fulfill, and a lifetime of writing to reach and understand. Many poets have strived beyond the limits of simple poetry--beyond the possibilities of a single poem, or even a body of poems--to create a poetry that is fundamentally important; that is more deeply searching and interrogating than is asked, or even expected, of a fine or prodigious poet. Such poets have a project, whether discreet and subtle, or thunderingly apparent. In the twentieth century, we may look at Ezra Pound's "Cantos" as an example, or John Berryman's "Dream Songs" an another, and perhaps more ambitiously, Charles Olson's "Maximus Poems", as examples.

With his first major publication, "Lucky Life", Gerald Stern was beginning on a course of intense exploration, and interrogation, of the Self caste into the world. Perhaps it is Gerald Stern's project to create a poetry with a new language of feeling and thinking, and which gives new meaning to the language we already possess. His poems, while filled with a language of grief and sadness, also point to the inevitable possibility of joy and hope within human experience. In one line, Stern's poetry permits the expression of both total loss and complete redemption, almost simultaneously. His poetry is complex, but direct, never confusing the issues at stake in the poem. The personae he uses in his poems are not of key issue--nor is the Self of the poet--but rather, the larger issues which they point to. When present in a poem, Stern uses himself almost as a launching pad into the world around him.

There are many gods in Stern's poetry; gods who often caste long shadows over the characters that people Stern's poems. Yet, in the midst of crisis, Stern's characters seem to find a way out from under the shadow, and embrace the pure luck of being alive in the first place. Stern's recognizable voice unites the poems in every book from "Lucky Life" to 1997's "This Time", his collection of new and selected poems. Stern's project is one of modern humanism, an attempt to recover the self from often senseless damage of the world, while at the same reveling, wide-eyed, in all its beauty and magic. His poetry presents a formadible belief in the ability of human beings to cleanse themselves, and all the lovely possibilities for redemption and reconciliation. With "Lucky Life", Stern began a new poetry with a contemporary consciousness. His humanism does not deny God, anyone of them--though his, the poet's, is the God of the Jews--but permits a remarkable search for faith and God in all the wonders of humanity, both terrible and beautiful. Of course, there is often failure, but sometimes we get lucky

I have always been impressed with poets who are not only good and prolific at what they do, but also attempt a greater project--an idea of more significant proportions than can be encompassed in a single poem, or even in a small group of poems; one that perhaps requires and entire volume of poetry to fulfill, and a lifetime of writing to reach and understand. Many poets have strived beyond the limits of simple poetry--beyond the possibilities of a single poem, or even a body of poems--to create a poetry that is fundamentally important; that is more deeply searching and interrogating than is asked, or even expected, of a fine or prodigious poet. Such poets have a project, whether discreet and subtle, or thunderingly apparent. In the twentieth century, we may look at Ezra Pound's "Cantos" as an example, or John Berryman's "Dream Songs" an another, and perhaps more ambitiously, Charles Olson's "Maximus Poems", as examples.

With his first major publication, "Lucky Life", Gerald Stern was beginning on a course of intense exploration, and interrogation, of the Self caste into the world. Perhaps it is Gerald Stern's project to create a poetry with a new language of feeling and thinking, and which gives new meaning to the language we already possess. His poems, while filled with a language of grief and sadness, also point to the inevitable possibility of joy and hope within human experience. In one line, Stern's poetry permits the expression of both total loss and complete redemption, almost simultaneously. His poetry is complex, but direct, never confusing the issues at stake in the poem. The personae he uses in his poems are not of key issue--nor is the Self of the poet--but rather, the larger issues which they point to. When present in a poem, Stern uses himself almost as a launching pad into the world around him.

There are many gods in Stern's poetry; gods who often caste long shadows over the characters that people Stern's poems. Yet, in the midst of crisis, Stern's characters seem to find a way out from under the shadow, and embrace the pure luck of being alive in the first place. Stern's recognizable voice unites the poems in every book from "Lucky Life" to 1997's "This Time", his collection of new and selected poems. Stern's project is one of modern humanism, an attempt to recover the self from often senseless damage of the world, while at the same reveling, wide-eyed, in all its beauty and magic. His poetry presents a formadible belief in the ability of human beings to cleanse themselves, and all the lovely possibilities for redemption and reconciliation. With "Lucky Life", Stern began a new poetry with a contemporary consciousness. His humanism does not deny God, anyone of them--though his, the poet's, is the God of the Jews--but permits a remarkable search for faith and God in all the wonders of humanity, both terrible and beautiful. Of course, there is often failure, but sometimes we get lucky

Marvelous first collection. Fans of Tony Hoagland's early work will enjoy this immensely.

James Harms Writings Are Inspiring...I Learned Valuable Lessons From His Writings. James Harms Was The Person That Inspired Me To Continue With My Poetry, And I Thank Him For That. He Was One Of The Best Professors I Had In My College Years! This Book Of Poetry Is Absolutely Amazing, I Would Recommend It And All His Others To EveryOne!!

Cleaning out a bookshelf recently, I found this book. As the snow fell outside, I discovered exquisite writing, characters instantly opened to the reader, intensely felt. The stories, full of detail to just the right degree, still unfold as smooth as cream. The pain of loneliness, illness, abandonment, death coming unfairly to the young, pulls the reader into remembrance, yet there's a hope and nobility and innocence to it all. This is an author of great talent. Reading this is a privilege.

Finely written stories that pull you into the lives of the characters with an emotional tug that holds long after you close the book. With a few deft words Kate Hanson creates characters like 80 year-old Bailey who laces up the old lady shoes 'she had sworn up and down she'd never own' and borrows her neighbor, Lester's truck, gets a lesson on driving and goes off to rescue her lifelong friend from the prison of an old folk's home. Another character, Annalee copes with despression and loneliness by befriending a boy and his mother who are on the run from the boy's abusive father. Humor and poignancy mix in the story of a wedding interrupted for the funeral of Miss Boo, a horse which was the last present given the bride by her father before he died in Vietnam. These are wonderful stories full of characters you'd be pleased to meet any day of the week and told with wit and compassion in a style reminscent of Flannery O'Connor and Lee Smith.

Dara Wier is a genuinely distinctive and exciting American poet. In book after book, she has always written work that is fresh and often hair-raising in its innovative and playful vigor. This new collection extends that work into new and profound ground. It really is a master plan by a master poet.

Dara Wier's poetry is extremely rewarding and a joy to read. Funny, smart and beautiful, this stuff is hard to resist. I love how intricate the world seems after reading her work: nothing is simple as she peels layer after layer off the commonplace, reducing it to a crystal of emotion and sense.