{"product_id":"an-awkward-bow-poems-9798893414813","title":"An Awkward Bow: Poems","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhen I told my nuclear physicist father that I write poetry, he responded: \"Don't we have enough poetry already?\" Somewhat taken aback by his question, I suggested, that while we might have enough poetry to be read, there will always be a need for more poetry to be written. I believed then, as I believe now, that a poem can emerge as a necessary and inevitable response to experience. Its carefully chosen words have the potential to endow experience with credulity, perspective, authenticity, dignity, memorability-all that we may desire, all that we may require when we are summoned to the difficult days of our collective humanity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNot all the poems contained in this volume rise to so lofty a challenge, but if even a few of the poems contained herein can do for you a little of what they did for me in their writing, I will claim a measure of success. For in that moment, you and I become, however briefly, partners in the human enterprise; we become less alone, better able to return to the challenges everywhere around us. We read; we look up; we go on.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEach of the poems in this volume challenged me to step back, to look more deeply into what was before me, to discover, where possible, a significance at risk of being otherwise overlooked or lost altogether. Poetry of the sort I have endeavored to write neither constructs nor restricts the realities or the experiences upon which it rests. Its purpose is to express, and in that expression, seek both a plausible and an enduring meaning. Such is the challenge of poetry for both the poet and the reader. A serious poem needs to be read almost as carefully as it was composed; indeed, it will likely need to be reread, perhaps reread many times and in many different ways. But if you are holding this volume in your hands, if you are contemplating a look inside, if you are willing to read and reread, chances are you and I are already partners, we just haven't met until now. Welcome. I wish you well.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRichard W. Leland earned his PhD. degree from the University of Minnesota. For almost 35 years, he taught a variety of courses at the college level. Writing has always been a persistent priority for him. He recently published his letters to Donald Hall, and hopes to publish the six plays he has written some time in the near future.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Dorrance Publishing Co.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50912300171538,"sku":"9798893414813","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_60693e1f-bab8-425e-9028-ea4dd633242d.jpg?v=1738768546","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/an-awkward-bow-poems-9798893414813","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}