In the Press
Some of these poems happen two beats before a vital event; some of these poems happen two beats after something vital has occured. Between these times is the breath and commotion of real poetry, a mix of recognition and wonder, knowledge and discovery. In all, as in music, the timing is right and richly resonant. Here is a little book to keep time with human life, and to keep that time alive. The voice and vision of all lasting poetry are present here, and leaves one yearning for more.
With a constantly arresting precision of image and phrase that delights in every line, Ben Gunsberg tills the soil of Cold War kitsch and subruban sprawl with an eye that never misses how "the junipers shoulder up to dusk." Perhaps there is still room for poetry that can teach us how to live. These poems win me over and convince me of just that.
Robin Behn
Maurice Manning
Bio
Ben Gunsberg is an Associate Professor of English at Utah State University. He earned an M.F.A. from the University of Alabama and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. His poetry appears in CutBank, Tupelo Quarterly, and The South Carolina Review, among other magazines. He's authored one poetry collection, Welcome, Dangerous Life (Turning Point, 2018) and one poetry chapbook, Rhapsodies with Portraits (Finishing Line, 2015). He's been been a finalist or semifinalist for a number of book contests, including the University of Wisconsin's Brittingham and Pollack prizes and The Georgia Prize. His poetry manuscript, Cut Time, won the University of Michigan’s Hopwood Award for Poetry Writing. He lives in Logan, Utah, at the foot of the Bear River Mountains.
