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On High
About This Book
All songs have skin, / all skin has holes. On High, Neil Surkan's debut collection of poetry, searches for spirits in myriad places. Wondering how, why, and when to act with a conscience, speakers try out steep hikes, strong drugs, and earnest meditations as they attempt to make meaning in a divided and distracting world. Careful and tense, On High balances on all kinds of tightrope-like lines: a trout fisher revels after riding a moose, a buzzed lover speculates about human connection, new condo owners toast from balcony to balcony, a young woman kicks a hornet's nest into her hometown library's erotica/poetry/religion section. Reaching for the sprigs of our shared humanity, Surkan's poems offer courage and compassion in violent times. As the speaker in "The Branch Breaker" muses, "sarcasm won't dissolve our enemies." On High is a book for the contemporary moment.
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Copyright
- CONTENTS
- I
- DIRECTIVE
- THE BRANCH-BREAKER
- BLEED
- THE OPENING OF THE FIELD
- LAUGHTER = IPECAC
- DEVELOPMENT
- THE HUMANS
- AUNTS
- GOAT
- SCORSESE TEACHES HIS KID TO CROSSHATCH
- UNDER THE SKIN
- ARS POETICA
- FLASH
- SALTSPRING FERRY
- ON HIGH
- II
- PELT
- THERE WAS LIGHT
- HALF-PASTORAL
- OTHER SIDE OF THE ORCHARD
- BRUTE
- ROCK GARDEN
- COLD PASTORAL
- IN PLAIN SIGHT
- MICRO-GOTHIC
- LOW TIDINGS
- THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA
- RESOLUTION
- VERY RARE
- EXTRA-REAL
- BUCOLIC
- CONE, TWIG, CAMEL
- III
- PRE-ELECTION
- THE OPPOSITE
- HERE COMES SOME BEAUTY
- DAY OFF
- VESPER
- GIVE
- NO CHARGE
- TEARDOWN
- OPPORTUNISTIC MYSTIC
- CONCENTRATE
- WHITE ON WHITE
- SNAP
- BETTER TO DIE OF TOO MUCH
- SUPER, NATURAL
- FRANCISCANA, SANTA TERESITA
- BLAST RADIUS
- APOLOGY
- NO CHASER
- IV
- MORE TRULY AND MORE STRANGE
- DECREATION
- NEVER CHANGES TO STOP
- FAWN
- UNFORGETTING
- DEISM, PENTICTON
- ON COMFORT
- THE MOST INTIMATE
- WASHINGTON
- VERGES, NOW AND FOREVER
- ON HIGH (II)
- NOTES
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS