Overview

"Todd Davis writes poems that are spare yet eloquent, poems with an appealing simplicity that belies their insight and consequence. They are rooted in the firmament of nature's frequently bruised bounty, yet grounded by our all-too-human experiences on this planet, living on a land that we so often treat with contempt or blunder through blindly. With the eye of a naturalist and the heart-wisdom of a sage, Davis reveals scenes of our lives that we might have otherwise missed. His poems are like the best kind of snapshot; they show us the details that deserve more attention, from a five-year-old's joy in sitting on Dad's lap and ""driving"" the family car or standing on a chair to help Mom make Jell-O, to the devastation of drought on farmland or the extraordinary lushness of an ordinary backyard. Because Davis holds up these prose-photos and urges us to take another look, we suddenly experience their profundity and comprehend their meaning. With disarming directness, he connects nature to family, landscape to community, and earth to faith. ""Some Heaven"" brings together more than 100 of Davis' poems. Most are concise; all are approachable. In fact, they pull readers in, stirring our senses, tickling our memories. Here are poems about Amish gardens, changing seasons, friends at school, tractors, and deer. Davis urges us to see - not to take a quick look, but to really see - frost on goldenrods, the qualities of dirt, the color of air. Underneath, of course, these are poems about universal themes: love, loss, life, death. But in Davis' skilled hands, they appear to us to be more akin to wild strawberries growing on a rock wall or apples discovered in an abandoned orchard: something fresh, unexpected, and thankfully welcomed."

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9780870138003

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"""In Some Heaven's title poem, Todd Davis imagines 'a warm October day that need never end', and asks, 'What more should heaven be?' But the operative word here is should, and his remains a precarious balance between faith in Whitman's 'primal sanities' and the knowledge that the sky 'holds no answers.' This fine book's undersong is a fusion of faith and muted longing that evokes the deepest feelings in us. In the end, Davis earns what comes to be the entire last section of his memorable 'Prairie Liturgy': 'Amen.'"" -- William Heyen ""Some Heaven is a considerable book of poems. Many poets feel that they know the natural world, but Todd Davis has absorbed this world fully into his heart and mind. He is a fine, rare poet."" -- Jim Harrison"

In Some Heaven's title poem, Todd Davis imagines 'a warm October day that need never end', and asks, 'What more should heaven be?' But the operative word here is should, and his remains a precarious balance between faith in Whitman's 'primal sanities' and the knowledge that the sky 'holds no answers.' This fine book's undersong is a fusion of faith and muted longing that evokes the deepest feelings in us. In the end, Davis earns what comes to be the entire last section of his memorable 'Prairie Liturgy': 'Amen.' -- William Heyen

Author Information

Todd Davis teaches creative writing, environmental studies, and American literature at Penn State University's Altoona College. His poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and have been widely published and anthologized. Among his many books are Kurt Vonnegut's Crusade, or, How a Postmodern Harlequin Preached a New Kind of Humanism, and Ripe, his first book of poetry.

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