Customer Reviews

Landing in New Jersey with Soft Hands

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I have had many pleasures knowing BJ Ward. He is a good friend of mine, and a colleague. His poetry is of the finest kind to read. It is dark, funny, loving and angry. The reader is invited into a comfortable room, though sparse, and is then treated to one of the most genuine voices we have in poetry, a voice that hides nothing but will not give up its secrets very easily. I find myself enjoying immensely the effort of trying to pry him open

I first encountered BJ Ward's poetry in the February issue of Poetry Magazine--an incredible poem called "The Star-Ledger." I ordered both his books based on the quality of that poem. I am so glad I did. I feel I've discovered a new world! He is writing with a voice that reminds me a little of the cavalierness of William Carlos Williams, the passion of Pablo Neruda, and the serious playfulness of Anne Sexton. I can't wait for his next book to be released.

I was able to have Mr. Ward as a teacher in a program at my school. After witnessing the charasmatic way he tought our class, I had to buy his book. (Landing in New Jersey with Soft Hand) I read his poetry sporadically and then one day I read, "Something You Haven't Found" and my life was forever changed by that poem. His poem became words to live by for me. I look forward to reading his other book and being touched all over again. If you are in need of a book that not only touches your soul, but enraptures it. This is the book.

I happened upon B.J. Ward the poet, looking for B.J. Ward the opera singer! I thought she would be performing at the College of New Jersey Writers Conference, so I went all the way to Trenton from Astoria, NY. How disappointed I was when I see this necktied white guy get up there and start reciting poetry! How elated I was after his first piece, his second piece, and--the highlight for me--his baseball poem! His books were sold out at the table, so I ordered them both from Amazon.com and can't praise him highly enough! To paraphrase Keatxs, I feel like a new star has just been discovered in my sky. This guy is terrific. I am actually looking for some first editions of his books--I think they'll be worth a lot someday.

Seems like lifetimes ago this book made me miss my bus I dog-eared it with much love. We run into each other once and a while and I can't wait to see him again. I have a lot of adventures to share, and I've been missing my friend :> This book is a tresure of mine, and I still bring it to readings to share my favorites. much love to BJ Ward from RinTheRed

First I must credit Deborah Garrison and her book, "A Working Girl Can't Win," for even getting me interested in poetry after learning to hate it throughout high school.

Then I must credit my friend Misty for telling me about Mr. Ward's books. While I am not a fanatic like she is, I certainly appreciate his very real voice speaking to regular folks like me instead of above our heads. He brings us along for many little rides in this book--I especially love the poem where he is nine and the priest makes him believe he is Jesus! There is truth here, with humor and sadness.

I read all three of Ward's books during a free hour I had coming from a friend's and waiting for a train. This book had a little bit of more interesting poetry, though I have to admit that he doesn't seem to have hios own voice in this but imitating a lot of other voices. It's a sham to say, really, because once he found a voice, it became farr less interesting...much like the Shakespeare poem in here. He's a waiter, and rpetty much has the typical moves you'd expect. Maybe Ward needed to copy other people's poetry for a while and found his voice when he was actually ready to.

This is a banal collection. Scattered, disorganized, lacking vision. He was able to tune his efforts in other books, but they never got better. I'm not sure why he keeps getting published, because I just didn't like this stuff very much.