Blood Almanac [Paperback]

Sandy Longhorn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2006

Poetry. Selected by Reginald Shepherd. Winner of the 2005 Anhinga Prize for Poetry, Sandy Longhorn's BLOOD ALMANAC "is a beautiful yet modest and unassuming book, one that claims less than it accomplishes, transfiguring personal narrative and landscape into things rich and strange: 'The air is heavy with the desire to claw beneath/ the surfaces of things.'"--Reginald Shepherd. "Whether evoking the very American landscape of Midwestern farms or tracing a more interior journey, Sandy Longhorn writes not only of solitude and longing but also of the power of language and its mysterious twin, quiet attention, to brighten the way. Here is the accuracy of faith. Here, a series of 'momentary constellations' flickering. Here, poems 'both diary and document/ held open and up to the light"--Mary Ann Samyn.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Sandy Longhorn writes beautifully and convincingly of the Great Plains and her native Iowa. --Davis McCombs

This is a beautiful yet modest...book, one that claims less than it accomplishes... --Reginald Shepherd

Longhorn writes not only ...of the power of language, but of its mysterious twin, quiet attention... --Mary Ann Samyn

About the Author

Sandy Longhorn was born in Waterloo, Iowa in 1971 and received her BA in English fromteh College of St. Benedict (MN) in 1993. In 2003 she received an MFA from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Currently, she teaches at Pulaski Technical College and lives in Little Rock, AR. Recent poems appear or ar forthcoming in Black Warrior Review, Conneticut Review, Free Vers, Gulf Coast, Hotel Amerika, Midwest Quarterly, Smartish Pace and elsewhere.

Product Details

• Paperback: 82 pages
• Publisher: Anhinga Press (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0938078917
• ISBN-13: 978-0938078913
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,413,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Never been . . . not sure I want to . . ., December 12, 2007

By 

SD (Northern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood Almanac (Paperback)

Never having been to Iowa, I fear that going would only disappoint now that I have such incredible pictures in my mind. Would it pale by comparison? Some images dreary, some beautiful. In each poem Longhorn elicits a different set of emotions . . . concern . . . passion and an unconditional acceptance for the place that she calls home . . . It is all beautifully written. I look forward to her next work!

5.0 out of 5 stars Blood Almanac, October 19, 2006

By 

Pale Blue - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood Almanac (Paperback)

Sandy Longhorn in Blood Almanac invites us into the tall grass of the prairie. She shows us "corn stalks that tower above the farmers," the "order of the fields," and fathers who "walk with wrecked knees." She weaves together threads of family, self, and landscape in a spare yet pungent first collection of poetry. From the observation of creeks, storms, blackbirds, and the red wasp, Longhorn explores the rhythm of loss and longing. She is a true and worthy lyricist. A great book worth reading and reading again.

5.0 out of 5 stars An Intimate Landscape, August 15, 2006

By 

Almira Woolfolk (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood Almanac (Paperback)

Sandy Longhorn's poems integrate the intimacy of individual experience with the story of a landscape where millions have toiled, laughed and loved--a combination sure to resonate with readers for years to come.