Poetry. A quiet lyric grace informs the poems of James Brock, a grace which never fails to console and locate their speaker, even in the midst of his restless odyssey among many American landscapes. The poems speak with a subtle necessity and authority, both as they confront the bagaries of daily living and as they perform their more demanding investigation into the meaning of loss. These are poems that understand, as one of his lines puts it, 'the inchoate currents of desire' -- David Wojahn. In this powerful collection, James Brock allows us to listen in on a fascinating argument between geography and the imagination. To describe a hugely various country, pulsing with radio talk, and covered with interstate highways, shopping malls, museums, beaches and potato fields is an ambitious project, but to show us how we become exiles and dreamers in our own land is to illuminate the inner landscape as well -- Maura Stanton.
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In this powerful collection, James Brock allows us to listen in on a fascinating argument between geography and the imagination. To describe a hugely various country, pulsing with radio talk, and covered with interstate highways, shopping malls, museums, beaches and potato fields, is an ambitious project, but to show us how we become exiles and dreamers in our own land is to illuminate the inner landscape as well.
- Maura Stanton
A quiet lyric grace informs the poems of James Brock, a grace which never fails to console and locate their speaker, even in the midst of his restless odyssey among many American landscapes. The poems speak with a subtle necessity and authority, both as they confront the vagaries of daily living and as they perform their more demanding investigation into the meaning of loss. These are poems that understand, as one of his lines puts it, "the inchoate currents of desire."
- David Wojahn
About the Author
James Brock, an Idaho native, landed in Florida after serving as an academic Kelly Girl for ten years, having taught at universities in Indiana, Tennessee, Idaho, Pennsylvania, and Miami. nearly Florida is his second book of poetry. His first book was The Sunshine Mine Disaster, published by University of Idaho Press. For his poetry, he has won fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts, the Alex Haley Foundation, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and the Idaho Commission for the Arts. He now leads the Writing Program at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, where he enjoys dance, birding, and film.
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More About the Author
James Brock is an American poet, born in Boise, Idaho. He is best known for his eclectic poetry, ranging from New York School inspired experiments to formal verse and narrative poems. He received his M.F.A. and Ph.D. from Indiana University, and he currently is a full Professor of English at Florida Gulf Coast University. His earlier life saw him in various odd jobs such as grocery produce clerk, roofer at a trailer factory, a bear field researcher, and a librarian.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant,
By A Customer
This review is from: nearly Florida (Florida Poetry Ser) (Paperback)
Lyrical, suggestive poetry, handsomely arrayed, that stands up reading after reading. These poems, about love, place, and loss, prove redemptive and hopeful and honest, as when the speaker arises with his beloved to a desert landscape of "automobiles and asphalt and ash," or when the speaker marvels at the airiness and gravity of his lover's dance, "the raw doomed pull of the music," or when the speaker sees the formation of his son's image: "my child's face in a cry or a laugh, / calling out someone else's name." These poems, like all good poetry, risks sentimentality, but they have a rigor and intelligence to them that make the poetry rise.While the poems are personal, they exhibit the dexterity and depth of a craftsman who is in full control of his art. They rise above the rather facile and fashionable criticism about the personal lyric these days. In short, a grown-up has written these poems.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The same excellent poems in his online chapbooks.,
By
This review is from: nearly Florida (Florida Poetry Ser) (Paperback)
Not to discourage anyone from supporting a talented poet, but if you have read his online work and purchase this in hopes of seeing something new, you will be disappointed. The very few new poems are not nearly as outstanding.If you can't afford to throw your money around, I highly recommend spending it on his previous work, The Sunshine Mine Disaster. Check this out even if you don't think it sounds interesting. I especially recommend Brock to timid readers who are not enamored of poetry. His work really does have something for everyone.
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