Overview

Mike James' Crows in the Jukebox rises from the most human of subjects: family, memory, grief, and love. James meditates on personal, familial and communal losses and tries to make sense of the passing of time. And he does it by placing his verse in the tradition of poets such as Franz Wright, James Tate, Bill Knott, and Allen Ginsberg. These poems are honest. They rest in observation and meditation. They are lucid. Subtle. Crisp. While unadorned and unpretentious, they offer a delightfully generous and loving attention to everyday details. Along with their simple, elegant lines lies an unmistakable longing, something akin to saudade, a kind of melancholy for something that has not happened. Resisting sentimentality, these poems seem to nod to the end of days. They acknowledge the broken world and embody a collected sense of acceptance with a transformative sense, reminding us as James so beautifully says, ""grace can come in the harvest of wild things."" Andrea Jurjevic,

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9781947504028

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Reviews

I was hooked on Mike James' new collection of poetry from the title onward. Crows in the Jukebox is a book as beautiful as its title. James explores his youth in poems like After a Remark by Darrell Gray and confronts his memories of his father in powerful poems like What's Done and Not Done. James' writing is precise. Not a word is wasted. James writes, the crow waits for darkness/ and the music it brings. This book brings both darkness and music, as well as beauty and light. Daniel Crocker, author of Like a Fish and Shit House RatIn his wonderful new collection, Crows in the Jukebox, Mike James explores among many topics, his hardscrabble patriarchy, marriage and family relationships, and the clarity and persistence of nature. As in his other work, he often surprises the reader with jarring quips and closures as in Talking with Allen Ginsberg, in a Dream: I can fit you in my shirt pocket, or the remarkable metaphor for the artistic creative process, Swimming in the Rain: when she swims she's always alone/no one who watches is with her. This volume establishes James as a poet of the first rank, one who swims alone. Tim Peeler, author of L2: A Poetry Novel Reading Crows in the Jukebox is like driving a race car at qualifying speeds--on a track you've never driven before. There are more curves than straightaways in Mike's James's poetry, and each new turn brings surprises that are addictive. Navigating the imagery of Crows in the Jukebox is one wild, imaginative ride. --Lee Passarella, author of Redemption **** In his wonderful new collection, Crows in the Jukebox, Mike James explores among many topics, his hardscrabble patriarchy, marriage and family relationships, and the clarity and persistence of nature. As in his other work, he often surprises the reader with jarring quips and closures as in Talking with Allen Ginsberg, in a Dream: I can fit you in my shirt pocket, or the remarkable metaphor for the artistic creative process, Swimming in the Rain: when she swims she's always alone/no one who watches is with her. This volume establishes James as a poet of the first rank, one who swims alone. Tim Peeler, author of L2: A Poetry Novel Mike James' Crows in the Jukebox rises from the most human of subjects: family, memory, grief, and love. James meditates on personal, familial and communal losses and tries to make sense of the passing of time. And he does it by placing his verse in the tradition of poets such as Franz Wright, James Tate, Bill Knott, and Allen Ginsberg. These poems are honest. They rest in observation and meditation. They are lucid. Subtle. Crisp. While unadorned and unpretentious, they offer a delightfully generous and loving attention to everyday details. Along with their simple, elegant lines lies an unmistakable longing, something akin to saudade, a kind of melancholy for something that has not happened. Resisting sentimentality, these poems seem to nod to the end of days. They acknowledge the broken world and embody a collected sense of acceptance with a transformative sense, reminding us as James so beautifully says, grace can come in the harvest of wild things. Andrea Jurjevic, author of Small Crimes In his wonderful new collection, Crows in the Jukebox, Mike James explores among many topics, his hardscrabble patriarchy, marriage and family relationships, and the clarity and persistence of nature. As in his other work, he often surprises the reader with jarring quips and closures as in Talking with Allen Ginsberg, in a Dream: I can fit you in my shirt pocket, or the remarkable metaphor for the artistic creative process, Swimming in the Rain: when she swims she's always alone/no one who watches is with her. This volume establishes James as a poet of the first rank, one who swims alone. Tim Peeler, author of L2: A Poetry Novel

Author Information

Mike James was born in the red clay hills of South Carolina and grew up amid tobacco, cotton fields and closing textile mills. He received his BA from Winthrop University and his MA from Duquesne University. His poems have appeared in numerous magazines throughout the country in such places as Birmingham Poetry Review, 5 AM, Negative Capability, and Chiron Review. Among his ten previous poetry collections are My Favorite Houseguest (Futurecyle, 2017), Peddler�s Blues (Main Sreet Rag, 2016), and Past Due Notices: Poems 1991-2011 (Main Street Rag, 2012). He served as an associate editor at both The Kentucky Review and Autumn House Press, as the publisher of Yellow Pepper Press, and as the Waneta T. Blake Visiting Professor at the University of Maine, Fort Kent. After years spent in Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, he now makes his home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina with his large family and a large assortment of cats.

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