Synopses & Reviews
Classical deities and down-and-out junkies, high school sweethearts and the inner life of JFK—these are the coordinates of J.T. Barbareses terrain. The poems in Sweet Spot set up shop where average lived experience meets American history. Masterfully evokes both the specific land- and cityscapes of his poems as well the psychological types of the varied characters that populate them, Sweet Spot confirms Barbareses preeminence as a chronicler of the heroic everyday, the telling detail, the subtle reminders of the human predicament hidden in habit and memory.
Synopsis
Goddesses and junkies, the Vietnam memorial and a neighborhood hangout are the coordinates of J. T. Barbarese’s Sweet Spot. His poems explore the emotional centers of whatever is fleeting in characters or places that will be instantly familiar to the reader. Barbarese masterfully evokes the specific land- and cityscapes of his poems. Sweet Spot confirms Barbarese’s preeminence as a chronicler of the heroic everyday, the telling detail, the subtle reminders of the human predicament hidden in habit and memory.
About the Author
J. T. Barbarese is an associate professor of English at RutgersUniversity and the author of four previous collections of poetry and a translation of Euripides. His poems have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Times Literary Supplement, and Poetry, and his literary journalism in The Georgia Review, Sewanee Review, and elsewhere.
Table of Contents
Walking Crosstown