In these tightly crafted poems, Bradley measures his life and discovers cause for both rejoicing and tears. Finding wonder in unexpected and unlikely places—a funny sign on a sewage truck, a work detail in Louisiana, the act of gutting a fish—he pulls metaphoric rabbits out of hats to transform the ordinary into the remarkable. A sense of urgency underlies Bradley’s surface wit as he confronts the implacable realities of aging, time, and mortality. Whether he’s assessing the ravages of Hurricane Harvey, Paul McCartney’s guitar, Robert Frost’s elegance, or the fallout from love lost and found, Bradley brings to the page an ultimate honesty that will leave his readers on their feet cheering “Author! Author!” Honor is due.
—Carol Coffee Reposa, 2018 Texas Poet Laureate, author of Underground Musicians
Order from any bookstore, local or online. This title is also available from Fleur Fine Books of Galveston, Texas.
Jerry Bradley is the author of nine books. Winner of the 2015 Boswell Poetry Prize, he is a member of the Texas Institute of Letters and poetry editor of Concho River Review. He is former president of the Texas Association of Creative Writing Teachers, and his poetry has appeared in New England Review, Modern Poetry Studies, Poetry Magazine, and Southern Humanities Review. Retired from a long and prestigious career in higher education, Bradley resides in South Carolina with his wife, architectural historian Barrie Scardino Bradley.