{"product_id":"03-08-2022-how-chet-baker-died-by-barry-gifford","title":"Gifford, Barry: How Chet Baker Died","description":"\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSeven Stories Press, hardcover\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePublication Date: April 12, 2022\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePublisher Marketing: Poems from the acclaimed author of \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eRoy’s World\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWild at Heart\u003c\/i\u003e, and many other works\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe first words in Barry Gifford’s new poetry collection say it all — “Here I am wasting time again \/ writing poems to keep myself company” — doing what he has ever done, surprising his readers in kaleidoscopic prisms of color, turning every breath into a story, and himself into his most colorful character.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eShe stood and walked across the lawn\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003epast the cottage and into the big house.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eHe stayed to watch the last of the sunset,\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ewaiting for the flash of green.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWhen it was finally dark and there was\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eno moon and the fireflies appeared,\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ehe got up and began walking toward the house.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eHe loved the Italian word for firefly,\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003elucciola\u003c\/i\u003e. She was like that, flickering\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eon and off from moment to moment.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAs he approached the house, he could hear\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eher singing: \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eVogliatemi bene, un bene\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003epiccolino\u003c\/i\u003e. It’s so strange, he thought,\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003elife’s so fast and time’s too slow.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eHe stopped and watched the fireflies.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eOr this:\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIn my dream someone asked me if\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eI remembered Frank Jackson\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eHearing this name brought tears\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eto my eyes though I’ve never\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eknown anyone by that name\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe mystery in these poems lives just beyond the province of words. In a strange way, Barry Gifford’s poems tell a wordless story, freed of the writer’s art. “It’s dangerous to remember \/ so much, especially for a writer \/ The temptation to make sense \/ of it is always there \/ where you and I \/ are no longer.” Daily life, family and friends, are much more important here than books. The beauty and elusiveness of women and music are of utmost importance, far more so than literature. As he attests: “I prefer music to poems, words don’t\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003elive the same way—so, listen.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e","brand":"Open Books: A Poem Emporium","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39396964499479,"sku":"9781644211540","price":23.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0004\/6497\/7956\/products\/9781644211540_4a741.jpg?v=1633637137","url":"https:\/\/open-books-a-poem-emporium.myshopify.com\/products\/03-08-2022-how-chet-baker-died-by-barry-gifford","provider":"Open Books: A Poem Emporium","version":"1.0","type":"link"}