Since early in their history, Americans have been seen as restless, rootless, given to wandering; that trait forms the central thematic thread in American Dervish. In poems that range from the historical to the personal, from somber to comic, from free to formal, the book explores this propensity for constant motion on multiple levels, and its results: dislocation, loss, nostalgia, delight, discovery, even a kind of wi...
Since early in their history, Americans have been seen as restless, rootless, given to wandering; that trait forms the central thematic thread in American Dervish. In poems that range from the historical to the personal, from somber to comic, from free to formal, the book explores this propensity for constant motion on multiple levels, and its results: dislocation, loss, nostalgia, delight, discovery, even a kind of wisdom. Taken together, the poems suggest a close tie between renowned people and places in the country’s history—Annie Oakley, Vachel Lindsay, Philadelphia, Tombstone—and the contemporary individual’s journey of identity, whether it be as citizen, parent, partner, poet, or simply observer of a culture forever on the move.
Steven Reese’s other titles include Enough Light to Steer By (poems, Cleveland State University Press) and, as translator, Synergos: Selected Poems of Roberto Manzano (Etruscan Press). His work has appeared widely in periodicals, such as Poetry Northwest, Asheville Poetry Review, Green Mountains Review, and West Branch. He lives in Youngstown, Ohio, where he is Professor of English at Youngstown State University and on the faculty of the Northeast Ohio MFA program.
