The Inconclusive Rule
None of these poems has been previously published. I am the photographer for all the pictures you will see in the book. I was inspired to make use of the photographs, all originally taken for a different purpose, by W. G. Sebald’s use of photographs in his novel Austerlitz. Which is not to pretend to the moral and tragic dimension of that great work: these poems are motivated most often toward whimsy, stillness, or both, to which the photos are point and counterpoint. They were written over the quarter century between 1985 and 2010. I am now 75 years of age; I will not be writing more of them.
The Laughing Heart—Revised
Here is a story of Kid Dee, of his unusual mother, and of religion, pro (his) and con (hers)—not to speak of a memorable father and friendships. Kid talks on and on, and for some, he gets tedious. It’s all made-up. Strange things happen.