Down among the bones, the darks, the sparrows -- Wheat field with crows -- The weight of a feather -- Through the trees -- Our hands in the history of it -- Avian voices: trying not to kill a mockingbird -- Snugfit eye patch: the monocular proof -- You dumb bell -- Where books fall open -- A relative of Chekhov, a cousin of Chaliapin -- Heroes -- Damn you, love -- One corner of Yoknapatawpha -- Big boss man -- The chandeliers -- The single-wide wars -- Dogs with agency -- The adjustment of claims -- Ghost beads -- Bathing the Buddha Man.
Summary:
"In his first collection of essays, beloved poet James Seay explores myriad universal themes including mental illness, what it means to be a parent and to lose a child, and the complexities of when different cultures collide, all told through his experience as a writer and a lifelong Southerner. We share moments with Seay that stay with us, dipping in and out of his life and our own collective experiences: his grandmother wringing chicken necks for Sunday dinner, Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha, 9/11, TV's The Sopranos, and the American obsession with guns. In each essay, he connects these disparate topics to the South, whether his home state or his years of teaching in Virginia and North Carolina, and he transports readers to these locales, often using Southern literature as a means of understanding culture and place. Using his poet's eye for detail, Seay offers few easy answers for the big questions he explores in this book. But walking with him on his journeys will open eyes to the possibilities, tenderness, and mysteries that surround us, hidden among everyday things"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.