Reviewed by Jeanne
In her preface, Carson says that this collection of poems is
based on conversations; at the heart of each is something she heard. She tried
to capture the tone and rhythms of the speaker, and the individual voices come
through. While she writes that these all
came from East Tennessee, some of the sentiments are universal.
I’d heard a bit about Jo Carson as a local poet and author of
note, and knew that she lived in Johnson City, but that was about it. I finally decided I should make her
acquaintance and I am so glad I did.
These poems are absolute gems.
The personalities of the speakers come through, and the cadences just
beg to be read aloud.
Some of the poems are poignant, some profound, and some are
laugh out loud funny. And some are
several of these at once.
My biggest regret is that I waited so long. Jo Carson was also a playwright and
performer, who also wrote stories along with her poetry. She passed away in 2011 so I never had the pleasure
of hearing her perform, but at least I can enjoy the work she left behind—especially
the final poem in the collection, which almost speaks to this very thing. It begins this way:
I am asking you to come back home
before you lose the chance of seeing me alive.
You already missed your daddy.
You missed your uncle Howard.
You missed Luciel.
I kept them and I buried them.
You showed up for the funerals.
Funerals are the easy part.
The rest you should read for yourself.
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