2008 Poetry Advisory Committee: William Brockman, Steven Herb, Mairead Martin, Christopher Walker
2008 Poetry Selection Committee: Chris Bursk, Ross Gay, Brandon Som
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Public Poetry Project
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2008 Overview
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Artist's Delight
"Such lush language, such productive tension between the beautiful depiction and the difficult subject--C.M. Burroughs’ poem is both aesthetically pleasing and challenging. A gorgeous poem."
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How To: A Prime Mover
"In a Thomas Kane poem it is the "cast-off fabrics" that a reader should look out for and cherish: the throwaways seemingly useless, but in the right hands, this poet's hands, the perfect fit and texture for the quilting of the poem. Kane consistently has his ear tuned to what falls between the cracks, those luminous details that seem to shine despite or perhaps because they escape our attention. Whitmanic in its inclusiveness and celebration of self, this is a rich poem that "[b]y design" and by detail is daring and surprising at every turn. "
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Mercy
"Pamela M. Perkins-Frederick's poem, "Mercy" invites us to consider the power that light has; it moves with grace from playful engagement with the sun's mercies to the deeper recognition that "there is no sorrow/that light/will not try/to wipe.” There is a courageous wisdom in that word "try," an understanding of the gifts of light and its limits. These are words from a poet who, in her own life, has suffered deeply and yet continued to celebrate both the natural world and the human spirit."
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The Perfection of Zero
"In Luray Gross's "Perfection of Zeroes" there is an acknowledgement of the losses inherent in our lives. With a voice that is courageous in austerity and a vision that does not blink in the face of grief, Luray Gross confronts the painful fact that we must let go of so much and yet she does more; in the care of her language she honors what language teaches us: word by word, we try to hold onto what is dear, and word by word we let go if it as bravely as we can."