Synopses & Reviews
Poetry. With his fourth collection of verse, THE CREEK AT THE END OF THE LAWNS, Fisher delves into the minds and lives lived in both a village and a city. Trees and streets and haunted hills figure in these poems. How does one negotiate each day's path as well as the shadows of night? These poems suggest a person—a soul—doing so, or dying in the trying. Fisher's well-crafted narrative and lyric verse creates a conversation which draws the reader into an investigation of both life and self and assures that each reading of this book is a rare verbal and visual treat to be enjoyed again and again.
"Robert Frost, Ira Joe Fisher's and my maestro, famously said that writing poetry without rhyme or meter was like playing tennis with the net down. Fisher sets his nets about half-mast—his rhymes are mostly internal and his cadences entirely his own. I love this book (great title, by the way) for its specificity, its deep noticing, its passionate spirit, and a heart so full it seems about to explode."—Thomas Lux
About the Author
Ira Joe Fisher holds an MFA from New England College and has taught poetry at the University of Connecticut in Stamford, Pace University and New England College. He has lectured at the University of Connecticut, Stamford, Keene State College and Manhattanville College. His poetry has appeared in various literary journals and he is the author of THE CREEK AT THE END OF THE LAWNS and SONGS FROM AN EARLIER CENTURY and two earlier titles, Remembering Rew and SOME HOLY WEIGHT IN THE VILLAGE AIR, both of which are now in their second printing. Fisher has worked in radio and television for over forty years, most recently for the CBS Early Show. He has acted in films and on the New York stage (for many years appearing in The Fantasticks). He and his wife, Shelly, and their four children live in Connecticut.