The Small Plot Beside the Ventriloquist’s Grave
by Terence Degnan
In his debut poetry collection, Degnan dissects religion, government, fatherhood,brotherhood and attempts at collecting and keeping loved ones. His words barrel forward with a lyrical slyness, referencing mythology and long ago worlds while winding together the disparate threads of contemporary American culture. With a rhythmic and powerful beauty, Degnan reminds us that we only imagine ourselves as free. (Retail $15.00, pp 106, ISBN:978-0-9825041-1-2, paperback, August 2012.)
“Terence’s poems don’t simply sit upon the page, waiting for you to read them; they grab you in their wind and spiral up above the earth until you are hanging with Major Tom out there in the ether, looking down upon our spinning orb with different eyes.”
–– Kate Hill Cantrill,
Author of Walk Back From Monkey School
“[Degnan’s poems] are simply propelled into the atmosphere urgent, heartfelt, both playful and dead serious. The contagious energy of the music hops off the page. It’s hard to keep up with the burning fuse of these lines, but well worth the effort. His dazzling imagery will send your head spinning. He’s a true original whose voice needs to be heard.”
–– Jim Daniels,
Author of All of the Above
Excerpt:
on our backs
in our winter clothes
counting the windows
of my father’s house
you ask about the people
who live there now
I say the man, he’s old
the woman, she’s crazy
they’re doing their best to live up to the portraits
crucified to the drywall
the light that bounces off the manicured grass
is light enough
that the scene could be rockwellian
could be pornography
Terence Degnan is a poet and spoken word artist. His work is published in various literary magazines including The Other Herald, The Front Weekly and the OWS Poetry Anthology. His two spoken word albums, 2008’s BC & 2010’s Calling Shotgun were produced in Pittsburgh, PA, and Raleigh, NC, respectively. The Small Plot Beside the Ventriloquist’s Grave is Degnan’s first published collection of poetry. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and daughter.