University of Wisconsin Press, 2004 Cloth: 978-0-299-20200-2 | Paper: 978-0-299-20204-0 Library of Congress Classification PS3602.R444S43 2004 Dewey Decimal Classification 811.6
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
ABOUT THIS BOOK
"Fun, wisdom, tasty language. Sea of Faith has real subways in it as well as real rivers, mountains and dogs, scoops of heartbreak, sightings of beauty. Yes, sad or happy, the poems are alive. Sea of Faith was a complete pleasure for me to read." —Alicia Ostriker, author of The Crack in Everything
In a masterful blending of lyric and narrative, Sea of Faith ranges widely across interior states and external worlds. From the Sierra Nevadas to New York City subways, from an imagined friendship with Lao Tzu to a rueful meditation on Coney Island, from a comic and poignant classroom discussion of "Dover Beach" to a sexual fantasy spawned by a tedious poetry reading, John Brehm’s poems explore the human predicament with tenderness, compassion, and unforgettable humor.
"The poems in Sea of Faith present us with a vivid dramatic voice, one determined to engage with a world that often seems intangible and remote, and to resist a world that seems all too real and disappointing. The speaker here is both self-mocking and self-accepting, taking his concerns seriously but always distant enough from them to regard them as a small part of a larger human story, a story we recognize at once to be our own."—Carl Dennis, Brittingham Prize judge and author of Practical Gods
"John Brehm writes on a knife edge. His voice would be ironic if it weren’t for the sustained emotion, the opening to the unknown, the ‘electric calm.’ These elegant poems wear their eloquence lightly; the stakes are high. Sea of Faith is an unforgettable book."—D. Nurkse, author of The Fall
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY John Brehm has published poems in Poetry, The Gettysburg Review, The Southern Review, Barrow Street, Prairie Schooner, and The Best American Poetry, 1999. He is author of the chapbook The Way Water Moves and is associate editor of The Oxford Book of American Poetry, forthcoming. He lives in Brooklyn and works as a freelance writer.
REVIEWS
" Fun, wisdom, tasty language. Sea of Faith has real subways in it as well as real rivers, mountains and dogs, scoops of heartbreak, sightings of beauty. Yes, sad or happy, the poems are alive. Sea of Faith was a complete pleasure for me to read." —Alicia Ostriker, author of The Crack in Everything
"The poems in Sea of Faith present us with a vivid dramatic voice, one determined to engage with a world that often seems intangible and remote, and to resist a world that seems all too real and disappointing. The speaker here is both self-mocking and self-accepting, taking his concerns seriously but always distant enough from them to regard them as a small part of a larger human story, a story we recognize at once to be our own."—Carl Dennis, Brittingham Prize judge and author of Practical Gods
"John Brehm writes on a knife edge. His voice would be ironic if it weren’t for the sustained emotion, the opening to the unknown, the ‘electric calm.’ These elegant poems wear their eloquence lightly; the stakes are high. Sea of Faith is an unforgettable book."—D. Nurkse, author of The Fall
TABLE OF CONTENTS
<table of contents, p. v/vii/ix>
Contents
I. WISHFUL THINKING
LAYABOUT 000
IF FEELING ISN'T IN IT 000
SONGBIRD 000
CONEY ISLAND 000
SEA OF FAITH 000
RACE 000
UPDATE 000
INSIDE AND OUT 000
SOMEONE UP THERE 000
WHEN MY CAR BROKE DOWN 000
II LOVE STORIES
AT THE POETRY READING 000
MY EMOTIONS ARE LIKE FISH 000
GETTING IT WRONG THE FIRST TIME 000
NOSTRADAMUS WAS RIGHT 000
SIGNS AND WONDERS 000
LOVE STORIES 000
STEP UP 000
POSTCARD FROM THE HEARTBREAK HOTEL 000
SECOND HELPINGS 000
SOME CLOUDS SOME QUESTIONS 000
INSPIRATIONS 000
THE POEMS I HAVE NOT WRITTEN 000
III FALLING AND RISING
FLY 000
SUPPLICATION AT THE RIVER 000
THE FENCE 000
FALLING AND RISING 000
THE BLASTED TREE 000
LANDSCAPE SURVEY 000
LIKE WINGS 000
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST 000
SOUND CHECK LOWER MANHATTAN 000
REASONS 000
THE INNER LIFE 000
TO THE DOGS 000
MISTAKES OF ONE KIND OR ANOTHER 000
NINE TO FIVE 000
WALKING UNDERGROUND 000
SOTTO VOCE 000
AUTUMN 000
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
University of Wisconsin Press, 2004 Cloth: 978-0-299-20200-2 Paper: 978-0-299-20204-0
"Fun, wisdom, tasty language. Sea of Faith has real subways in it as well as real rivers, mountains and dogs, scoops of heartbreak, sightings of beauty. Yes, sad or happy, the poems are alive. Sea of Faith was a complete pleasure for me to read." —Alicia Ostriker, author of The Crack in Everything
In a masterful blending of lyric and narrative, Sea of Faith ranges widely across interior states and external worlds. From the Sierra Nevadas to New York City subways, from an imagined friendship with Lao Tzu to a rueful meditation on Coney Island, from a comic and poignant classroom discussion of "Dover Beach" to a sexual fantasy spawned by a tedious poetry reading, John Brehm’s poems explore the human predicament with tenderness, compassion, and unforgettable humor.
"The poems in Sea of Faith present us with a vivid dramatic voice, one determined to engage with a world that often seems intangible and remote, and to resist a world that seems all too real and disappointing. The speaker here is both self-mocking and self-accepting, taking his concerns seriously but always distant enough from them to regard them as a small part of a larger human story, a story we recognize at once to be our own."—Carl Dennis, Brittingham Prize judge and author of Practical Gods
"John Brehm writes on a knife edge. His voice would be ironic if it weren’t for the sustained emotion, the opening to the unknown, the ‘electric calm.’ These elegant poems wear their eloquence lightly; the stakes are high. Sea of Faith is an unforgettable book."—D. Nurkse, author of The Fall
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY John Brehm has published poems in Poetry, The Gettysburg Review, The Southern Review, Barrow Street, Prairie Schooner, and The Best American Poetry, 1999. He is author of the chapbook The Way Water Moves and is associate editor of The Oxford Book of American Poetry, forthcoming. He lives in Brooklyn and works as a freelance writer.
REVIEWS
" Fun, wisdom, tasty language. Sea of Faith has real subways in it as well as real rivers, mountains and dogs, scoops of heartbreak, sightings of beauty. Yes, sad or happy, the poems are alive. Sea of Faith was a complete pleasure for me to read." —Alicia Ostriker, author of The Crack in Everything
"The poems in Sea of Faith present us with a vivid dramatic voice, one determined to engage with a world that often seems intangible and remote, and to resist a world that seems all too real and disappointing. The speaker here is both self-mocking and self-accepting, taking his concerns seriously but always distant enough from them to regard them as a small part of a larger human story, a story we recognize at once to be our own."—Carl Dennis, Brittingham Prize judge and author of Practical Gods
"John Brehm writes on a knife edge. His voice would be ironic if it weren’t for the sustained emotion, the opening to the unknown, the ‘electric calm.’ These elegant poems wear their eloquence lightly; the stakes are high. Sea of Faith is an unforgettable book."—D. Nurkse, author of The Fall
TABLE OF CONTENTS
<table of contents, p. v/vii/ix>
Contents
I. WISHFUL THINKING
LAYABOUT 000
IF FEELING ISN'T IN IT 000
SONGBIRD 000
CONEY ISLAND 000
SEA OF FAITH 000
RACE 000
UPDATE 000
INSIDE AND OUT 000
SOMEONE UP THERE 000
WHEN MY CAR BROKE DOWN 000
II LOVE STORIES
AT THE POETRY READING 000
MY EMOTIONS ARE LIKE FISH 000
GETTING IT WRONG THE FIRST TIME 000
NOSTRADAMUS WAS RIGHT 000
SIGNS AND WONDERS 000
LOVE STORIES 000
STEP UP 000
POSTCARD FROM THE HEARTBREAK HOTEL 000
SECOND HELPINGS 000
SOME CLOUDS SOME QUESTIONS 000
INSPIRATIONS 000
THE POEMS I HAVE NOT WRITTEN 000
III FALLING AND RISING
FLY 000
SUPPLICATION AT THE RIVER 000
THE FENCE 000
FALLING AND RISING 000
THE BLASTED TREE 000
LANDSCAPE SURVEY 000
LIKE WINGS 000
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST 000
SOUND CHECK LOWER MANHATTAN 000
REASONS 000
THE INNER LIFE 000
TO THE DOGS 000
MISTAKES OF ONE KIND OR ANOTHER 000
NINE TO FIVE 000
WALKING UNDERGROUND 000
SOTTO VOCE 000
AUTUMN 000
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
It can take 2-3 weeks for requests to be filled.
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE