A collection of haunting lyricism that evokes the beauty and hardship of
the rural South, by a revered American master of letters--the
award-winning, bestselling author of the novels Serena, Something Rich
and Strange, and Above the Waterfall.
In this incandescent, profound, and accessible collection, beloved and
award-winning poet, novelist, and short-story writer Ron Rash vividly
channels the rhythms of life in Appalachia, deftly capturing the panoply
of individuals who are its heart and soul--men and women inured to
misfortune and hard times yet defined by tremendous fortitude,
resilience, and a fierce sense of community.
In precise, supple language that swerves from the stark to the luminous,
Rash richly describes the splendor of the natural landscape and
poignantly renders the lives of those dependent on its bounty--in cotton
mills and tobacco fields, farmlands and forests. The haunting memories
and shared histories of these people--their rituals and
traditions--animate this land, and are celebrated in Rash's crystalline,
intensely imagined verse.
With an eye for the surprising and vivid detail, Ron Rash powerfully
captures the sorrows and exaltations of this wondrous world he knows
intimately. Illuminating and indelible, Poems demonstrates his rich
talents and confirms his legacy as a standard-bearer for the literature
of the American South.
