The Tree Surgeon Dreams of Bowling

Lucid and accessible, The Tree Surgeon Dreams of Bowling invites readers to enjoy the author’s deft use of slant rhymes and expressive poetic forms. Its three sections move between inner and outer worlds, across the American landscape and the Pacific Ocean to Japan, China, and India. Birds, animals, woods, and waters frame the poems’ topics: grief that arises from mistakes, illness, and death; the interests and insights gained from travel; and good-humored observations of daily experience. Fans of modern poetry will enjoy the range of styles found here. At time, the poems’ spare frankness echoes William Stafford, or a sense of quiet appreciation evokes Mary Oliver, and the linguistic allusions can hint of Emily Dickinson, Richard Hugo, or Anne Sexton. Using imagery drawn from the author’s knowledge of natural history, the poems trace an arc that encompasses the rich textures of life.