In Bloom

Esteban Rodríguez

Stephen F. Austin State University Press, 2020 - Poetry - 83 pages

Estaban Rodriguez's In Bloom is an exquisite array of lyrical poetry. The title poem, for example, takes us through a catalogue of images, beautifully phrased, of family members who "lent themselves to a pendulum of trumpets, / accordians, drums, guitars, and lyrics that taught us" Spanish and solitariness, the disenchantment. Yet, "a song / we knew would suddenly come on, give us every reason / to bob our heads, sing along" even if we didn't understand the message. Rodriguez can take us to "Gomorrah" and "Golgotha," and lead us to a prayer that says "praise be . . . luck--regardless / of circumstances, conditions--was something / that could always be repeated."

About the author

ESTEBAN RODRIGUEZ is the author of Dusk & Dust (Hub City Press, 2019). His poetry has appeared in The Gettysburg Review, New England Review, Hayden's Ferry Review, Water Stone Review, Washington Square Review, and Puerto del Sol. A native of the Rio Grande Valley, he currently lives with his family and teaches in Austin, Texas.

Bibliographic information

• Title: In Bloom
• Author: Esteban Rodríguez
• Publisher: Stephen F. Austin State University Press, 2020
• ISBN: 1622883063, 9781622883066
• Length: 83 pages
• Subjects: Poetry / American / Hispanic & Latino