by Kenneth Brewer
Utah State University Press, 2006
Cloth: 978-0-87421-645-5
eISBN: 978-0-87421-540-3 (all)
self-ironic. Yet, in this collection perhaps more than his earlier work, the particularity of the poet’s insight into the physical world and the warmth of his affection for it combine
to create an unexpected transcendence. Beasts and bodies are transformed in his lines, and our dim, unremarkable lives on this shadowed earth become somehow more
luminous—small words to the moon, small suns opening in the dark.
Influential for over three decades as a poet, writer, teacher, and mentor in the Intermountain West, Kenneth W. Brewer published ten books of poetry; hundreds of individual poems in literary journals; dozens of essays and articles; he also gave countless readings, and conducted writing workshops throughout the Western states. Professor of English at Utah State University for 32 years, Brewer served on the Board of Directors of the Utah Arts Council and was Utah's poet laureate from 2003 to 2005. As this book was going to print, Ken Brewer passed away at his home in Providence, Utah, surrounded by family and friends.
Ken Brewer loved life, perfected his own art of right living, and graciously accepted his role and responsibility as earth's caretaker. In his poetic Bestiary, we see his metaphorical alter-ego, the joyous spokesman for and champion of the earth and the earth's have-nots. The voice of these poems is a radical departure from Dr. Kenneth Brewer, Poet Laureate of Utah, scholar and archetypal gentleman. Here we have Ken-of-the-earth, Old Mongrel, keen-nosed, sharp-eyed, quick-witted and on point. These poems are as refreshing as a face-slap of cold water on a crisp morning.
David Lee
Label: This book is freely available in digital formats through the Utah State University Library Digital Commons.
License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
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