Description
Book SynopsisWith skillful rhetoric and tempered lyricism, the poems in A Glossary of Chickens explore, in part, the struggle to understand the world through the symbolism of words. Like the hens of the title poem, Gary J. Whitehead's lyrics root around in the earth searching for sustenance, cluck rather than crow, and possess a humble majesty. Confronting subj
Trade Review"Whitehead's poems are learned without being fussy, masterfully observant and complete. He provides a seriously good time... He is attentive in ways that offer a digestible, quirky adhesiveness... [L]ike Tobias Wolff or other contemporaries in that league, Whitehead blurs with perfection the line between story-telling and poetry... I repeat. Masterfully observant and complete."--Barbara Berman, Rumpus "It's skillful and beautiful without being twee, and like every book I'm about to mention, it deserves a wide audience. It's also gently amusing, with some high-flying acrobatics thrown in that never feel forced."--Barbara Berman, TheRumpus.net "[T]o reread his book is to see its invention--and to wish it were longer."--Stephen Burt, Yale Review "A distinctive, quiet-voiced, sharp-eyed collection."--Carol Rumens, The Guardian
Table of ContentsOyster 1 I The Wimp 5 Lot's Wife7 Spice Rack 9 Sourdough 10 Luminescent Jellyfish 11 Somebody Throws It In 13 The Slip 15 Trap Door 16 Owl Pellet I Show My Students 19 One-Legged Pigeon 20 II A Glossary of Chickens 23 Sleeping with My Dog 24 Warren 25 Pastoral 26 Stupid 33 Tied Dog 35 Letter Written in Pokeberry Ink 36 Homeschooled 37 Babo Speaks from Lima 38 III Slaveship 43 Melville Passing 45 First Prospective 46 The Coop 47 Death Watches 49 In the Butterfly Conservatory 50 Drosophila melanogaster 51 Uncle 53 Ararat 54 Some Notes 55 Acknowledgments 57
