Strangers

Praise for Strangers “It takes a special temperament to be able to write as directly and intimately about such situations as Taylor does without lapsing either into sentimentality or self-pitying melodrama. There is indeed nothing showy or theatrical about Taylor’s poetic methods, and although the endnotes reveal a wide range of literary sources, he wears his knowledge lightly ... These poems’ disarmingly frank explorations of self knowledge represent a major advance on an already impressive poetic career.”—Christopher Levenson, The Ormsby Review "If 'Imagery is the memory of memory' as Stanley Plumly believed, Rob Taylor’s Strangers out with Biblioasis press uses imagery as both revelation and reconciliation. The poems tease epiphany from memory, memory from language, language from grief and loss. I urge everyone to go out and buy this wonderful poetry collection that dares sadness and boldly remembers, imagining a present moment where our deceased loved ones and friends are still close by, albeit unseen, making loss and life more palpable."—The Miramichi Reader Praise for Rob Taylor "Taylor’s most affecting and adept poems remix actual quotations from the project participants inside of poetic structures and techniques. The saddest poem, perhaps, is the one that gives the book its title: 'When people say, "So how are you?" / really they want you to say, "Oh I’m great." / I’m sure there’s something chemical to it, but