Feeding the Fire: Poems

The poems in "Feeding the Fire," by Jeffrey Harrison, are written in a clear, straightforward language. There are a number of story poems told by a first-person voice; there are also a number of elegies and also poems on poetry itself. Some of the most memorable selections in the book are as follows:"Our Other Sister": a story poem in which a boy's creation of an imaginary sister impacts his real sister. "My Double Nonconversion": an ironic poem about a college freshman's encounters with evangelists from two very different religions. "Salt": about a Gentile man's experience of the Jewish world. "Vietnam Scrapbook": about a 4th grade teacher in 1968 who is teaching her students about the war in Vietnam. "White Spaces": a meditation on poetry and loss, told in 2 voices. "Note Written on Birch Bark": a nature poem that hints at the possibility of liberation from language. "A Garbage Can Full of Books in Brooklyn": a poem that questions how you "read the bibliography of someone's inner life." And finally "Interval," in which fireflies are described as "a sublunar starscape whose shifting constellations / were a small gift of unexpected astonishment."Harrison is a gifted poet-storyteller, and this volume contains some really striking and thoughtful passages.

I have not yet had the opportunity to read Mr. Harrison's first book (The Singing Underneath), but I hope to at some point in the near future. As for Feeding the Fire, like his second book (Signs of Arrival) it is a fine collection of poems drawn from poignant memories and touching observations with exquisitely placed dashes of wit. Harrison has the keen ability to synthesize experiences and feelings into a coherent fabric of verse that is easily read. The book was also beautifully produced (particularly the hardback) by Sarabande Books.

I have not yet had the opportunity to read Mr. Harrison's first book (The Singing Underneath), but I hope to at some point in the near future. As for Feeding the Fire, like his second book (Signs of Arrival) it is fine collection of poems drawing from poignant memories and touching observations with exquisitely placed dashes of wit. Harrison has the keen ability to synthesize experiences and feelings into a coherent fabric of verse that is easily read. The book was also beautifully produced (particularly the hardback) by Sarabande Books.