Rowing inland : poems / by Jim Daniels.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Daniels, Jim, 1956- author.

Series:

Made in Michigan writers series

Standardized Title:

Poems. Selections

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Detroit (Mich.)--Poetry.

Detroit (Mich.).

Genre:

Poetry.

Physical Description:

xiii, 114 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm.

Place of Publication:

Detroit : Wayne State University Press, [2017]

Summary:

Rowing Inland, Jim Daniels's fifteenth book of poetry, is a time machine that takes the reader back to the Metro Detroit of his youth and then accelerates toward the future. With humor and empathy, the author looks at his own family's challenges and those of the surrounding community where the legacy handed down from generation to generation is one of survival. Although the book focuses on Detroit's metropolitan area, it can be considered a snapshot of working-class life anywhere across the country. Daniels casts his lens on a way of life that is often distorted or ignored by the powers that be. He zooms in on street level where all the houses may look alike but each holds its own secrets and dreams. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Rowing Inland

Home Improvement 3

Rowing Inland 5

Swiss Steak 9

Wishbone 11

Talking by the Fence 12

Three Sonnets: Cutting My Grandfather's Grass 14

Beware of (My Grandfather's Fake) Dog 16

Prayer Above the Washer 17

My Mother Recalls the Miracle of the Loaf (No Fish) 18

Photo of My Grandparents Working Their Lunch Wagon at the Gates of Dodge Main 20

Family Relics: The Suicide Policeman's Blackjack 21

Second Shift Closed the Bar 24

Reading Dante's Inferno on Break at Ford's 26

Laughing from Here 27

Room Divider 28

Hard Candy 29

Last Meals 31

2 Welcome to Warren

Welcome to Warren

I The Exploding Cigar Tour 35

II Around the Block 37

III Hidden Beauty 40

IV Legendary Parks 45

V The Heavy Stuff 48

VI The End of Childhood 51

3 Late Invocation for Magic

Late Invocation for Magic 55

Weeding Out the Weak 59

Letter to Andy 60

The Monkees, 1968 64

"School's Out," Alice Cooper, 1972 66

Infamous 68

The Unpregnant Pause 70

Calling Out Marlene Miller 73

Dead Girl 75

Homemade Prom Dress 75

FOE: Forwarding Order Expired 79

4 Economic Fairy Tale

Soft Side of the Moon 87

Painting a Picture with Broken Crayons 90

Crayola Trailer Park Eight-Pack 91

The St. Vitus Dance of the Factory Floor 92

Rouge Overpass 94

Easter Sunday at Hakim's Convenience 95

Something Like a Sonnet for Something Like Peace 97

July 20 Fireworks During Ongoing Conflicts Abroad 98

Quitting the Day Job in the Middle Age? 102

A Game Called Rock 104

Christmas Dinner, 2008 105

Economic Fairy Tale: The Cement House 106

Fifth of July: The Morning After with Lady Liberty 107

Summer Weight, Labor Day 109

Crooked Teeth 111

Homeless Arisen from Dead 113.

ISBN:

9780814342183

0814342183

OCLC:

953843696