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| Enter the 2009 Book Prize |
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Winner of the 2007 National
Poetry Review Book Prize
by James Haug |
| "James Haug's poems abound in the
mysterious, in the world gone wrong by inches. The details are always there, slightly
askew, so believable you accept them against your will. And wake up in a world of insight
and conviction. These are marvelous poems, ones that help us see what might have been or
could have been, in a world full of light." James Tate In James Haugs poems, precision of observation and plain speaking comfortably coexist with authentic strangeness, in a way I feel is deeply true. The speakers in these poems are friendly, familiar and knowing, but also a bit distanced; they seem also always oriented towards the mysterious, and therefore towards possibility. I love reading these poems, laughing, feeling silent, and drifting off into what feel to me like very real lucid necessary dreams. Matthew Zapruder Sometimes we go looking for poetry because we are looking for a conversation that defies predictable directions. In James Haugs poems we are so lucky to be in the presence of a generous, complex, surprising, and lucid collection. We are steadily sure of why this poetry is here. Were grateful, were enriched, were sustained by it. Dara Wier |
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| James Haugs previous
collections are Walking Liberty and The Stolen Car. He is a recipient of
fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Cultural
Council. He lives in Northampton, Massachusetts. |
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