Bristol Bay

and Other Poems

Gary Lemons

Publication Year: 2009

Bristol Bay is the easternmost part of the Bering Sea and the site of the largest Salmon run in the world. It is also home to some of the highest tides and roughest water on the planet. In winter, ice storms freeze the riggings of fishing boats and the added weight of the ice, if not chipped off and thrown overboard, is sufficient to sink all but the largest of boats. The working conditions are brutal and the Bay itself as unforgiving as it is lovely. If it were a town, its name would be Deadwood or Tombstone, a place where life is measured in sunrises, not years. The title poem, “Bristol Bay,” is autobiographical. Much of what is described in the poem is true and not hyperbole or metaphor. The author worked two seasons on the 420 foot floating processor, the All Alaskan, now a partially submerged wreck outside of Kodiak, Alaska, and the poem speaks to that almost apocalyptic experience. The poems in this book are thematically aligned with the title poem in that they share a willingness to explore the potentially fatal, often unknown body of the individual. Homelessness, war, the blue collar work ethic, the love of all things opposed by the hatred of one thing—mothers and fathers—all of these become touchstones through which greater awareness may be experienced as a spiritual participation in building and sustaining human communities.

Published by: Red Hen Press

Contents
Search Inside This Book
Book Details

Gary Lemons has published a previous book of poetry, Fresh Horses, a CD, Arisen, and has appeared in hundreds of literary magazines since he was first published in the Paris Review in 1967. His poetry is a distillate of his experiences as an iron worker, Alaska fisherman, tree planter, and other hand-driven labor ...

E-ISBN-13: 9781597093620
Print-ISBN-13: 9781597094559
Print-ISBN-10: 1597094552

Page Count: 96
Publication Year: 2009

Edition: First

Bristol Bay

Title Page, Copyright, Dedication

Contents

Epigraph

Kingdom of Exiles

Aviary of Notions

Bristol Bay

Voodoo Economics

The Log

Waking Up

Sleight of Hand

In Memory of Nadia Anjuman 1980—2005

The Enemy Within

House of the Heart

Ebb Tide

Ancestors

Family

Aerial View

Butcher’s Thumb

Spell

Orphan

Fearless

Quietly, Forever

Culture of Signs

Second Coyote

What the Day Brings

Lost Boy

Yesterday

Gardener

New Years Day 2005

End Game

Why the Phoebe Wept

Notes

About the Author

Research Areas

Welcome to Project MUSE

Connect with Project MUSE

Cover 1

Cover 2

Cover 3

Bristol Bay

Title Page, Copyright, Dedication

Contents

Epigraph

Kingdom of Exiles

Aviary of Notions

Bristol Bay

Voodoo Economics

The Log

Waking Up

Sleight of Hand

In Memory of Nadia Anjuman 1980—2005

The Enemy Within

House of the Heart

Ebb Tide

Ancestors

Family

Aerial View

Butcher’s Thumb

Spell

Orphan

Fearless

Quietly, Forever

Culture of Signs

Second Coyote

What the Day Brings

Lost Boy

Yesterday

Gardener

New Years Day 2005

End Game

Why the Phoebe Wept

Notes

About the Author

Research Areas

Recommend

Related Content

Welcome to Project MUSE

Connect with Project MUSE

Cover 1

Cover 2

Cover 3