Above the Line
New Poems
Format:Paperback
Publisher:West End Press
Published:30th Dec '03
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
These poems of close observation and passionate feeling deeply reflect Joseph Bruchac's Abenaki Indian heritage. Like Thoreau, he is a scrupulous student of nature. Uniquely, however, he brings his own cultural concerns to every observation -- not only about preservation of a vulnerable ecology, but about keeping cultural continuity and reaffirming tradition. So many things are observed in this fine collection: an ancient village ruin and a local car wash; kingfishers and red-tail hawks in flight; burial places and a cedar flute. In ""The Last Elms"" he laments the attack of Dutch elm disease on these stately trees but affirms their continued existence as well: ""Each spring I salvage elm branches and small trees cut by roadside crews clearing power lines. From their bark my sons and I make rattles and baskets, trays and bowls. And I know that somewhere in the forest a few tall elms remain."" This is vintage Bruchac, a voice of hope and promise in a dark time.
ISBN: 9780970534484
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
64 pages