On Dream Street: PoemsWinner of the Tupelo Press Editors' Prize This is flawless poetry from a fearless poet with perfect pitch, whether she is writing whimsy or elegy. Melanie Almeder's poems span myriad locales and themes without ever losing sight of the author's goal: to enlighten, arouse, irk, and amuse. She is graceful and musical as she spins an "Ode to Peterson's Guide to Birds," and yet profoundly articulate as she intuits language from the paintings of Chagall-this, in a thoughtful and distinctive series of poems concerning eminent works of painting and photography. Contemporary philosophy, autobiography, and the landscapes of Florida and Maine are all rendered between these pages, but there is an underlying unity and wisdom to her vision that will manipulate, surprise, and edify her readers as they are led into her lyrically rich yet subtly nuanced landscapes. A singular debut from a compellingly inventive new voice that cannot, and will not, be ignored. Melanie Almeder was raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and southern Maine. She received her BA in English from the University of Virginia, MFA in poetry from the University of Massachusetts, and PhD in contemporary fiction from the University of Florida. Her poems have been widely published in a range of journals, including The Georgia Review, Poetry, Five Points, Seneca Review, The Comstock Review, and American Literary Review. She has been nominated three times for the Pushcart Prize. Almeder currently teaches contemporary literature at Roanoke College. |
Contents
Dreaming Industry | 1 |
Desire | 15 |
Pastoral for a Sad River | 29 |
Copyright | |
3 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
ache Alison Saar Answer the Phone Barred Owls bees belly beloved beneath bloom blossoms blue whale body bone breath burned centuries Cure damp darlin Debora Greger début collection brings door DREAM STREET Dreaming Industry dusk edge feathered thing flesh frond Georgia gone grief Guide to Birds gutted hibiscus Howard Finster humming innards insistence keening Kelly Cherry lake leaves legs light limbs litany lizard look loon Lovers Lowell Sonnets Luck Marc Chagall Mock Orange Molly Peacock Moon Variations mouths night palm Peterson's Field Guide pink purple purple finches quiet rain red-eyed vireo Reginald Shepherd river Roanoke College roof rooftop rust sighing Silence skin sleep slick snap someone song Spanish moss spit stare sweet tender thicket thistle thought thrum tongue tosses town underbelly water oaks wide Wilfred Owen window wings woman yellow