Lake Michigan And Other Poems [Paperback]

Jared Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 2005

A new book of poetry by a well known master of modern poetry. Contains the major poem "Lake Michigan." A careful, thoughtful collection of poetry.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jared Smith has a distinguished 25 year career of publication in poetry volumes and the nation's leading literary journals, while serving as a leader in continuing education and policy formation in both the public and private sectors. This includes advising the Clinton Administration on national security policy, serving as Special Appointee to Argonne National Laboratory, serving as associate director of Education and Research at a major private laboratory outside Chicago, and spearheading various private/public sector partnerships between industry and various university and government agency groups. He has written and published poetry extensively throughout this period, as well as supporting literary development by serving executive functions in various literary organizations. Jared's poetry has appeared in Poet Lore, The Small Press Review, The New York Quarterly, Kenyon Review, Pulpsmith, Rhino, Spoon River Quarterly, Bitter Oleander, The Pedestal, Beloit Poetry Journal, Greenfield Review, Bitterroot, Coe Review, Fine Madness, Pembroke Magazine, CrossCountry, Trail & Timberline, and many, many others. His work has been adapted to modern dance at New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and to musical drama at Crossroads Theatre in Naperville, Illinois. He has been interviewed and read his work on NPR radio programs. Jared is on the advisory board of The New York Quarterly, and Poetry Editor of Trail & Timberline Magazine, the official journal of the Colorado Mountain Club. He is also immediate past president of Poets & Patrons in Chicago, a member of The Chicago Poets' Club and the Illinois State Poetry Society. Lake Michigan and Other Poems is Jared Smith's fifth book of poetry. Jared's previous books have been critically well-received by such writers as the late William Packard, Walter James Miller, Andrew Glaze, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Harry Smith, Stanley Nelson, and others. These books include: Walking The Perimeters Of The Plate Glass Window Factory (2002, Birch Brook Press, NY) Keeping The Outlaw Alive (1988, Erie Street Press, Chicago) Dark Wing (1984, Charred Norton Publishing, NY) and Song Of The Blood: An Epic (1983, The Smith Press, NY)

Product Details

• Paperback: 66 pages
• Publisher: Puddin'head Press; 1 edition (November 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972433945
• ISBN-13: 978-0972433945
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,947,760 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jared Smith (Jared R.W. Smith) is a widely published contemporary American poet, as well as a former businessman, technology researcher, and adviser to several White House Commissions.

In addition to his books, his work has appeared in hundreds of literary journals in the U.S., Canada, France,the U.K., and in translation in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. His work has also been adapted to stage at New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and in the suburbs of Chicago, as well as being broadcast on NPR and Pacifica networks. He travels extensively, offering readings and workshops throughout the U.S. His official website is www.jaredsmith.info

Jared received his B.A. cum laude and M.A. from New York University, where he studied under such masters as M.L Rosenthal, Robert Hazel, and William Packard. He has served on the Editorial Board as well as the Board of Directors of The New York Quarterly; as Columnist for Home Planet News; and as Guest Editor of The Pedestal Magazine. He is a member of the Academy of American Poets, Colorado Poets Center, Colorado Poetry Association, Illinois Poets Association, and former president of Poets & Patrons in Chicago. He has been listed in Poets & Writers Directory since its inception, and his biography is listed in Marquis' Who's Who In America among other reference sources.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Discovery, January 28, 2007

By 

Barbara T. Salisbury "Pick. E. Reader" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lake Michigan And Other Poems (Paperback)

Jared Smith's Lake Michigan and Other Poems is a marvelous find. These poems have a seriousness and command of language that comes only with deep insight and deep talent. Few things are more exciting than finding a book of poetry so good you wonder why you haven't heard of the poet. I don't read poetry much because I don't like the obscure, doctrinaire, or wonder-of-my-pain stuff that so frequently comes from MFA trained poets.

Mr. Smith is different. He writes about Lake Michigan in the title poem of the collection and writes about it the way Walt Whitman wrote about America--celebrating its force, depth, reality. Jared Smith makes, lets, forces us, to experience the power and mystery and necessity of the lake (and other depths) at the heart of the heart of the country. He understands place. He understands place in the way we need to understand place. Even if that place is rusting and forgotten. He gets at how place is in our gut.

These poems have been thought about. They have been felt. Lived. Talent helps and Mr. Smith has plenty of talent. He can write, "My whole life has been controlled by ghosts," and when we finish the poem of that name, we know how real those ghosts are.

The absolutely remarkable poem, "Driving Small Town America" starts:

what is it to play michaelangelo's adam
and reach out a sistine finger
to BOMB
with a fingertip
when nothing comes back at you?

The poem ends:
In the begining is the word
and it is BOMB

I haven't read better commentary on the Iraq war than that and I read allot.

Other poems deal with solitude, grown children, lost or changed relationships. Smith knows the loneliness and hardness that underlies and surrounds most of life. He does not show it off. Pain and deep-living of life have been transmuted into art.

Lake Michigan and Other Poems is remarkable. I keep it by my bed so I can read and reread. That's the highest compliment I give a book.