New and Selected Poems

by Rodger Kamenetz

The Dead Are with You...

At a loss for words which is the place where all words begin. God is not a two-timer. Once he makes up his mind that is the end of it. One big idea from the beginning of the earth to the end of time. We are at a loss for words which is to say the dead are at our lips and remain unspoken. To address the dead is to find them at home. They are sitting in their favorite chairs. One of them is smoking a pipe. Another is a child. The tendency to repeat oneself is the dead part of the conversation. It is like a prayer to deaden the soul. Yet no longer believing at odd moments in the conversation we pray to anyone who will listen. A former featured selection of the Jewish Book Club A poetic examination, as humorous as poignant, of the blessings and curses of Jewish heritage, focusing on how the American Jew has lost his religious and cultural identity through assimilation. These are very exciting and original poems...a secret and almost intimate meeting place of English and Hebrew. — Yehuda Amichai, author of A Life of Poetry, 1948–1994 and Open Closed Open: Poems Kamenetz's poems whirl and shake on the page. He is the poet of the living history of unspeakable names and his book...sings with dark wit the tales of tough family spirits. — Louise Erdrich, author of Love Medicine Receive a 20% discount by using the coupon code SALE