Poetry Editor Charlie Bondhus bids farewell to 2014 with a representative sample of some of the fine work published in the past year.
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The Good Men Project‘s Poetry section is just over a year old! We started back in November of 2013, and since then we have published over 150 poems on topics ranging from fatherhood, to brotherhood, to friendship, to being a son, to being a veteran, to being in love…and beyond! As editor, I am proud of not just the breadth of subject matter but also the breadth and diversity of contributors. We have published people of different gender identities, different races and ethnicities, different sexual orientations, different ages, and different geographic locations.
To celebrate what we hope will be the first of many great years, we’re presenting a sample of 10 poems published in 2014. I’ve done my best to present a sample (arranged in chronological order) that represents diversity of both subject matter and authorship. Enjoy what I’ve assembled here; browse the archives; and don’t forget to submit YOUR poetry to us in the new year!
Thank you for your dedicated readership and your support of The Good Men Project! Best wishes to one and all in 2015.
Charlie Bondhus, Poetry Editor
D. Gilson, “Iris” — Teen romance is always tricky, even more so when it’s between two young men in a conservative Christian environment. D. Gilson pulls no punches in this bold poem.
Lee Patton, “Shooting an Elephant” — In deceptively simple language, Lee Patton brings together mortality and isolation, elephants and teeth.
Valerie Lute, “Cinderella’s Brother” — A deeply moving poem from Valerie Lute about the human connection between men and women, brothers and sisters, and how we sometimes fail to live up to our obligations to one another.
Kenny Fries, “The Canoe Ride” — Looking both inward and outward, Kenny Fries reminds us of how beauty “elevates our lives beyond mere description.”
Angel Garcia, “On Nights Like These” — As much as Angel Garcia’s speaker insists “this is not about precision,” this poem is extremely precise–in its language, in its images, in its emotional resonance.
Margaret Rhee, “Day 0” — Margaret Rhee elegizes the Gaza dead in a prose poem of remarkable tenderness. Blending the personal and political, she questions “The difference between wound and womb…Palestinian and Israeli…You and me.”
Laura Foley, “Lapping Over Us” — Laura Foley’s poem works to come to terms with loss by juxtaposing the language of dreams with one stark, unforgettable image.
Aimee Herman, “friday evening with your approaching facial hair and my nervous fingers” — Aimee Herman takes a queer look at what has become a common rite of passage for young men.
Jarrett Neal, “Night Train” — Jarrett Neal reflects on the heartbreak and alcoholism that so often attended black men from “the Jim Crow South” in this searing poem.
Mike Crossley, “The Bet” — Like many great poems, Mike Crossley’s piece about a father’s playful challenge to his son can be understood in many ways.
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Photo: Flickr /Julia Webb