Dead Stars Have No Graves
a poem
by Joseph Kerschbaum
Joseph Kerschbaum has performed at numerous venues around the
country. He is a founding member, and the captain, of the
Bloomington, Indiana, Poetry Slam Team.
A number of Joseph's poems have appeared in journals and magazines
including Arsenic Lobster, Bathtub Gin, Eclipse,
Facets, Poetry Motel, Stirring, Stray Dog,
Tipton Poetry Journal and others.
In 2005 he received the Greer Foundation Fellowship for Creative
Writing from the Jason Shephard Greer and Lucy Kim Greer Foundation
for the Arts and the Bloomington Area Arts Council. He was also
nominated for a Puschcart Prize that same year.
Joseph is the author of The Composer Steps into the Fire
(2004), The Human Remains (2002), as well as the CD 1 of
29 (2003).
Specifications
Pages:40
Binding: Saddle-Stitch
Cover: 80lb. cardstock
Interior: 20 lb. white linen
ISBN: 1-932840-00-1
Price: $5.95 USD
Special Promotional Deals
Pathwise Press is proud to now distribute Joseph's
full catalog. If you purchase both of Joesph's earlier books, you'll receive
a copy of Dead Stars for free! Visit Joseph's website
at The World of Joseph Kerschbaum for
information on his earlier books.
The Human Remains
|
The Composer Steps
Into the Fire
|
Order Here
PATHWISE PRESS CATALOG
Excerpt...
Snow this morning.
Coldest day of the year so far.
Last year, when the first snow fell,
I bought the scarf you wear
right now. Too cold
for you to be wandering around
with no warmth, I said.
Even then you were surprised
by my concern. As if I should ignore winter
painting your face blue. The winter
still worries me. What I keep from you still
worries me. What you keep from me worries me.
Wrapped up in angora. The scarf was
my suggestion for warmth.
Now, I am afraid if I pull it from your neck
your head will fall off.
(Copyright, Joseph Kerschbaum)
"...Dead Stars Have No Gravesis varied in its representation of the turmoil of the mind in a
situation like the breakdown described. To investigate a subject so fully in this manner, means a long
engagement with the subject matter, and the danger is in the reader (and the writer) being consumed by
the situation's negative effects. There is no nice manner with which to deal with a subject like this, so
Kerschbaum's effort in retaining the sense of gravity with the material navigates a fine line between avoiding
break-up clichés and appearing to be arrogantly selfish.
If the poem is considered an investigation of the ego under emotional duress, it shows that even under such
duress, there is much more going on in the mind, than one may ever be able to reveal - and this poem shows
the possibility of what can be reconstructed from the mind, in what can be read as a pause before answering.
Reading the poem in this way, shows how Kerschbaum manages to capture a deeper level of psychological
penetration, which is framed by sandwiching the whole between question and answer. The poem is one of the
fullest explorations of the internal mental process and is a refreshing antidote to the thousands of clichés to be
found in the world about broken love. (Barbara Smith, May 2006, from New Hope International).
"...a long-poem that dives deep in the black hole of a dying or dead relationship. There is a touching mix of fragile,
dashed hope and resignation, to this work....[Kerschbaum] rages against the dying of the light in a relationship,
and does it with style and deeply layered use of language. (Doug Holder, May 2006, from hisSmall Press Blog).
Last update: 26 June 2006
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