This reissue of Wesley McNair's poetry collection captures the essence of American life in 1853, reflecting the diverse experiences and emotions of its people. Through vivid imagery and poignant language, McNair explores themes of identity, resilience, and the social landscape of the time. The poems serve as a historical lens, offering readers insight into the cultural and personal narratives that shaped the nation during this period.
Wesley McNair presents a thought-provoking collection of essays that delve into personal experiences, reflections on life, and the intricacies of the human condition. Through his lyrical prose, McNair explores themes of memory, identity, and the power of storytelling, inviting readers to engage with his journey and insights. The essays blend poetic sensibility with profound observation, offering a rich tapestry of emotions and ideas that resonate deeply with the reader.
Awarded the 2015 PEN New England Award for Poetry, this collection showcases a compelling blend of emotional depth and vivid imagery. The poems explore themes of identity, loss, and resilience, drawing readers into a rich tapestry of personal and universal experiences. The author's unique voice and innovative use of language create an engaging reading experience that resonates with both the heart and mind, making it a significant contribution to contemporary poetry.
Wesley McNair's memoir chronicles his journey from a childhood marked by poverty and family turmoil to becoming a celebrated poet, praised by Philip Levine as a master storyteller. Through personal struggles and setbacks, he transformed his hardships into powerful artistic expression, offering insight into the resilience required to pursue a creative life against the odds.
"Wesley McNair is a kind of Chekhov of American poetry."--Ted Kooser, Pulitzer Prize winner and U. S. Poet Laureate Wesley McNair's story-like poems have long celebrated eccentrics and misfits, the hopeful and the lost, with a tenderness that transcends the everyday. This career-spanning collection brings together his very best poems from the past four decades alongside his newest poems. Since the publication of his first book in the early 1980s, Wesley McNair has earned a reputation as a poet of place, an intimate observer of the speech and character of New England. In fact, McNair's "place" is unlimited, as he proves in the lucid, far-ranging poems of this volume. "Whole lives fill small lines," wrote Donald Hall of McNair's work. He is truly, as Philip Levine wrote, "One of the great storytellers of contemporary poetry." Late Wonders: New & Selected Poems includes "The Long Dream of Home" the complete trilogy of McNair's masterful, long narrative poems written over the last thirty years: "My Brother Running," "Fire," and "Dwellers in the House of the Lord." This is a collection for anyone who believes mixing a little sorrow and little comedy makes for poetry that moves the heart.