Michael Hettich
Singing With My Father
That will never come to pass, as real as those that will:
I saw a picture of a woman stepping from the belly
of a wolf which was bleeding in the snow; in the distance
men wearing fur hats were running through the woods.
The woman was naked. There were no tracks
in the snow. The wolf wasn't dead yet; its head
was raised up a little; its eyes were still open.
The first day I spent with my wife, she caught
two small trout she gutted with her thumbnails, while
they were still quivering. She fried them in garlic
and cornmeal as dusk turned opaque, and more
stars than I'd ever seen
crowded out the darkness.
1-882983-66-1
16 pages/$9
Michael Hettich has intelligence, feeling, and musical skill. When I finish reading any one of his poems, I feel like I know something about myself and my world that I didn’t know before. I feel ennobled. His poems are finely observed, precisely felt, and they bring magic to domestic life, the real magic of language that has the power to transform a world, to float a “cankered minnow,” to save us all. These are rich and finely textured poems full of that sad knowledge of the wound at the center of our existence—the love that vanishes.[Hettich] recreates the world the way Ovid did, flower by flower, bird by bird, and it is a first-rate book of poems that will enrich the reader and leave her breathless.
—John Dufresne
Michael Hettich writes with lyrical passion for images of totemistic transformation and natural grace amidst ordinary life. These are poems of alchemistic essences, the darker side of the domestic dream.
—Campbell McGrath
Michael Hettich has published three previous books of poetry, including Immaculate Bright Rooms, and Many Simple Thing, also published by March Street Press. He is co-editor of an anthology of Florida writers titled Having a Wonderful Time! He lives in Miami with his wife and children and teaches English and Creative writing at Miami-Dade Community College.
We just received this announcement from Swan Scythe:
SWAN SCYTHE PRESS/ RELEASE
James DenBoer
515 P Street #804
Sacramento CA 95814
jimzbookz@yahoo.com
2011 SWAN SCYTHE PRESS CHAPBOOK CONTEST WINNER
SACRAMENTO, CA, JULY 10, 2011—Swan Scythe Press announced today the winner of the 2011 Swan Scythe Press Poetry Chapbook Contest. The winning manuscript is The Measured Breathing by Michael Hettich of Miami Shores, Florida.
Hettich's manuscript will be published by Swan Scythe Press in Fall 2011, and he will receive a cash award for his work. According to Swan Scythe Press editor, James DenBoer, the contest winner was selected because of on Hettich's distinct voice. "His work stood out immediately from the large number of competent and interesting poets who entered our contest," DenBoer said. "I was particularly impressed by his ability to write a book of lyric poems without using the word I and by his startling images of transformation and transcendence."
Hettich's poetry has appeared in Alaska Quarterly Review, Cake, Hamilton Stone Review, International Literary Quarterly, Poetry East, and many other literary journals. His most recently published book of poems is Like Happiness, from Anhinga Press; a new book, The Animals Beyond Us, is forthcoming from New Rivers Press. Born in Brooklyn, NY, Hettich now teaches at Miami Dade College.
Swan Scythe Press was founded in 2000 by poet Sandra McPherson, and is now edited by James DenBoer, also a poet. The Measured Breathing was chosen as the contest winner from among 165 entries, from 34 U.S. states and four foreign countries. DenBoer made the final selection of the winner with the help of a group of volunteer readers. Mr Hettich's book will be the 32nd book of poetry published by Swan Scythe Press. Its authors have won many awards and prizes, and have distinguished themselves as artists and educators throughout the U.S. and abroad.
For more information on Swan Scythe Press itself, please see the Press's website at http://www.swanscythe.com, email the editor directly at jimzbookz@yahoo.com, or write to the press at 515 P Street, #804, Sacramento CA 95814.
xxx
James DenBoer
515 P Street #804
Sacramento CA 95814
MAIL: jimzbookz@yahoo.com OR swanscythe@gmail.com
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