The Plain Above the River

Poetry. "If Carroll Kearley relied on mere reminiscence to propel the reader from poem to poem in THE PLAIN ABOVE THE RIVER, the collection might devolve to 'fragments of memory keep[ing] family together.' Instead, he evokes a sensuality and sensibility rapidly disappearing from the American cultural landscape. No matter how or where your personal history has been constructed, these simultaneously simple and complex poems will remind you of sensations you may have forgotten: the fragrance of 'Bing cherries [with their] deep-red-to-black flesh,' a song 'signaling the falling away.' Read this book slowly. Savor it."—Lynne Thompson