Tree of Heaven (Iowa Poetry Prize) [Paperback]

James Mckean (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A co-winner of the 1994 Iowa Poetry Prize, much of this wriggling, writhing collection swarms with animals?fireflies, cockroaches, dogs, pigs, magpies, a pelican, a sow bear?whose activities intersect and merge with human life. When McKean anthropomorphizes ("canaries that sing for all/ they cannot have") and, less frequently employs its opposite number, theriomorphism, ascribing animal qualities to humans, he seems to suggest that the animals have something profound to say about humans, as in the first poem, "Fireflies," which concludes "How/like us to... wander/ our whole lives, dragging a lamp/ that gives us away." In these poems, grouped mainly in the first section, McKean seems to attach a specific significance to the creatures, as though they were fortune cookies. More direct and crisper are the poems in the latter two parts, where human figures, often parents and children, take pride of place, e.g.,"Splitting Wood," "Fire Line" and "Silver Thaw." Given such clear points of focus, McKean's mostly short lines offer up images that illuminate the human condition from within. These poems are simple, complex and moving.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

The Blessing Of Habit
Breakneck
Concert
Dead Reckoning
Driving To Multnomah Falls
Fake Id
Fireflies
Fireline
First Snow
Heron
Hooking Yourself
House Wrens
Ice
In The Mind's Eye
Just In Case
Lava Flow, Wahaula
Les Grues
Net
The Night Before A Morning's Fishing
Orchard
Pelican
The Place Of Mosquitoes
Quarry
Reunion, Cannon Beach
The Ride Back
Rider
Rowboat
Silver Thaw
Skin Est
Snow Angel
Sow Bear
Splitting Wood
A Story After Dinner
Teachng Canaries How To Sing
Tell Me
There's A Hawk In The Yard
This Way, Please
Tree Of Heaven
The Try-your-strength Machine At The Tivoli Gardens
Two Magpies
Whale Rock
Whispering In Leo Kauf's Ear
Worry Dolls
Your Leaving
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

Product Details

• Paperback: 84 pages
• Publisher: University Of Iowa Press; 1 edition (May 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877455058
• ISBN-13: 978-0877455059
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 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: #3,662,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars It was clear to me why McKean has won awards for his poetry, November 22, 2007

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tree of Heaven (Iowa Poetry Prize) (Paperback)

The author was a winner of the Iowa Poetry Prize in 1994 for his title work "Tree of Heaven." That is one of many of his quality works that appear in this book. My favorite in the collection is "Fake ID", a tale of a sixteen-year old boy using a fake ID to enter a bar. The descriptions of his mental state, the new to him and crusty ambience that he enters, his adopted persona as "Chuck Luna", a sailor of the seas on Barrow sound, the response of the bartender and his feeling of triumph as he departs bearing the desired two cases of Oly beer are delightful. While the individual circumstances will differ, this is the story of all underage men who arm themselves with a fake ID and stroll purposefully on a mission to buy illicit alcohol.
The imagery in the remaining poems is in the category that makes the best poetry. There is just enough description yet a lack of precise imagery so that the reader has the freedom to imaginatively fill in the details. It was clear to me why McKean has won awards for his poetry.