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| Elm St., Somerville, Ma., photograph by Timothy Gager |
Coming soon, meaning, hopefully before the end of 2019, a book of thirty-three new poems,
Spreading Like Wild Flowers. I know that in the hating universe we are in now (see Twitter), that someone will say, isn't the phrase, "spreading like wild fire?" Yes, the phrase is that, exactly, so I can agree with you.
Spreading Like Wild Flowers will by my fifteenth book, my seventh book of poetry.
Joe the Salamander, my novel still seeking representation (synopsis halfway down the link). I would have loved to be making an announcement that the book, Joe the Salamander had found an agent, but somewhere in the middle of that long wait, I wrote a bunch of poems. So, I am very happy and pleased that
Big Table Publishing the publisher of my last four books will be taking
Spreading Like Wild Flowers. I am also ecstatic for the wonderful introduction to the book, written by Doug Holder of Ibbetson Street Press and Endicott College. Read his introduction now, and keep your eyes out for the upcoming book.
It is a book book not to be confused with
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Introduction
Timothy Gager and I have
seen a lot over the years in the local literary world. We started the The
Somerville News Writers Festival (2003 to 2010), he ran the Dire Literary
Series for almost two decades, and he published many works of short fiction and
poetry. There is a consistent current flowing through this man’s veins. That
current keeps him writing, and expanding, both personally and professionally.
No one can doubt his dedication to the craft; and what he has done for the
literary community over the years.
I met Gager about twenty
years ago. Back then he was a different man, a different poet, and a different
writer. My small press “Ibbetson Street" published his first book of
poetry, The Same Corner of the Bar.
Now, twenty years later Gager is not in the same corner. On the front
cover of his seminal book, one can see a hungover Gager--with a bottle of booze
on his bed, and, beside him, a comely blonde in the midst of her drunken
slumber. The older Gager I know now would be more likely looking through some
nocturnal window--into the deep recesses of his own soul.
During those earlier years,
Gager was a well-oiled alcoholic (which he makes no bones about revealing), was
not in touch with himself, and was distracted from his surroundings. His poetry
had a raw, Bukowski-style punch-- with slivers of light around the edges.
Gager, at that time was still fairly young-- in his mid-30s-- and was beginning
his long road to recovery. The years have left an impact on his writing.
It occurred to me when I was
reading his poem in Ibbetson Street
45, "In the Dark Corner of a
Theatre" (which also appears in this collection), how nuanced and
sensitive the piece is:
Our
hands touched, craved
completeness
of fingers
intertwined, growing
limb-like
vines,
shielding
old cracks
of
a brick wall.
In
April, the climbers
stay
sparse--may, we
forbid nature a minute longer?
May we be offered blooms of ivy?
so tender the cover,
so
gentle it grows.
Here, Gager uses
intertwined hands as a balm, and embeds them in the tangle of nature.
In his new collection Spreading like Wild Flowers, Gager
stripped down the poems to their essence. His ears attuned to nature-- the way
a bird chirps metaphors on a rainy day, a feral cat screeches in the dead of
night--Gager knows not to ignore it.
In his poem "At a Cookout
for Poets" he uses metaphor expertly with his contemplation of death--and
his feelings about his mother’s illness.
Inside, I
imagine my mother’s kidney,
is
like the old clove of garlic
in
the host’s refrigerator—
The
tumor growing like its root,
pretending,
to play polite here,
not
to be intrusive, I will ask
God
to take care of all
that
is rotten.
Gager is a poet
engaged—with the world, his interiority, and he shares his insights with us.
-Doug
Holder/Ibbetson Street Press, Lecturer
in Creative Writing/Endicott College
.
