Poem of the Week | April 03, 2012

This week we’re thrilled to publish a new poem by Gregory Fraser. Fraser is the author of two poetry collections, Strange Pietà (Texas Tech, 2003) and Answering the Ruins (Northwestern, 2009). He is also the co-author, with Chad Davidson, of the workshop textbook Writing Poetry: Creative and Critical Approaches (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2008) and the composition textbook Analyze Anything: A Guide to Critical Reading and Writing (Continuum, 2012). His poetry has appeared in journals including the Paris Review, the Southern Review, the Gettysburg Review, and Ploughshares. The recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Fraser serves as associate professor of English and creative writing at the University of West Georgia.

Author’s Statement:

Karl Shapiro, as the legend runs, once told his workshop that a strong poet could write well about any subject, no matter how trivial or mundane. One member of the class scoffed and challenged Shapiro to write about manhole covers. He went home and did—brilliantly. “The Great Northeast” arose from a similar circumstance. In my intermediate poetry workshop, we were discussing the power of place—of root terrains and sacred geographies. Which is to say that we were talking about old neighborhoods. Two of my students, Blesz and Delicious (I have not changed the names to protect the innocent), pressed me to talk about my own boyhood neighborhood. I backpedalled, insisting that the class needed to focus on their writing, not mine. But then, remembering Shapiro, I went home and gave it a shot. The result cannot compare with “Manhole Covers,” but I tried my best in homage to the master.