Synopses & Reviews
“An unexpected story and a gem of a book.”
—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The incomparable Campbell McGrath, whom Outside magazine calls, “A writer who could help save poetry from academia and get the rest of us reading it again,” delivers an astounding work: Shannon, an epic poem that traces the remarkable journey of the youngest member of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The Kansas City Star praises Shannon as, “A luminescent narrative…a myth of American character before its corruption,” and Campbell McGrath—Poet Laureate, Guggenheim Fellowship, Pushcart Prize, and three-time Academy of American Poets Prize winner—proves once again to be truly an “everyman poet” who channels the spirit of Walt Whitman in this lyrical adventure.
Review
“A luminescent narrative...the stanza spacing, the line breaks and the quiet rhythms of Shannons speech ...suggest the continents vastness...Shannons understated lyricism the apprehension of nature before the onset of self-consciousness...reflects heightened maturity in McGraths work.” Kansas City Star
Review
“McGrath takes us back to a pivotal point in United States history through the curious eyes of an unsung hero. [Shannon is] an unexpected story and a gem of a book.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Review
“A meditation on a new, westering nations discovery of its own inestimable riches....Surely, the sort of task McGrath undertakes here represents one of literatures profoundest pleasures. A poet tirelessly digs up something buried by days, years, centuries. And then he holds it to the light.” Washington Post
Synopsis
From the inimitable Campbell McGrath comes an epic poem of george shannon, the youngest member of the lewis and clark expedition, who wandered the prairie alone for sixteen days.
The last of the Maha will fade from the earth Vanquished utterly by the Pawnee & after the Pawnee the Sioux may perish & eventually the Kentuckians and Ohioans &c—I doubt not but my countrymen Will populate in numbers these fulsome plains But what untold count Of years & men, of decades & centuries What numberless generations will it require Life by life & skeleton by skeleton To claim this land from the buffalo?
With Shannon, a testament to both natural splendor and human courage, Campbell McGrath has created a thrilling narrative that rises from those vast, lonely spaces that continue to haunt the American consciousness.
Synopsis
An unexpected story and a gem of a book. Pittsburgh Post-GazetteThe incomparable Campbell McGrath, whom Outside magazine calls, A writer who could help save poetry from academia and get the rest of us reading it again, delivers an astounding work: Shannon, an epic poem that traces the remarkable journey ofthe youngestmember of the Lewis andClarkexpedition. The Kansas City Star praises Shannon as, A luminescent narrative a myth of American character before its corruption, and Campbell McGrath Poet Laureate, Guggenheim Fellowship, Pushcart Prize, and three-time Academy of American Poets Prize winner proves once again to be truly an everyman poet who channels the spiritof Walt Whitman in this lyrical adventure. "
About the Author
Campbell McGrath's previous collections are Shannon, Seven Notebooks, Capitalism, American Noise, Spring Comes to Chicago, Road Atlas, Florida Poems, and Pax Atomica. His awards include the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award and fellowships from the Guggenheim and MacArthur Foundations. He teaches in the creative writing program at Florida International University in Miami.