For several summers after high school, Seattle-born David Guterson worked on the brush-disposal crew for the US Forest Service in Randle Washington, with access to Mt. St. Helens, Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, Mount St. Helens, and "daily dwelling in the high country." In the 1980s, our poet taught En ...more
I really wanted to love this. I *love* the idea — a rhythmic walking poem meant for people in the woods, on the mountain. And while it’s true that if you’re spending several days with someone in the woods, there will be times you hate their guts, more of this book was dedicated to salty old man musi ...more
Might be better if you know a lot more words than I do. I felt like it was hard to follow and one piece of that was there were often multiple esoteric words on a page that I would either have to look up or just move ahead not knowing what they meant, and the context wasn't always enough to guess. ...more
A book to treasure. David Guterson shares his love of mountains, and their trails through stories of mountain lore, poetry and incredible artwork. He leads us through his own introduction to the natural world influenced by his Uncle Henry Shain. He also tells us how poetry became part of his life. T ...more
I'm not sure what I think of "Turn Around Time" and that's probably good. I guess I expected it to be more like somethings by Gary Snyder, Mary Oliver or Donald Hall, but it's not. I assumed it would be about midlife or late-life, and it is. But it also concerns a hiking partner, who is hard to like ...more
Turn Around Time: A Walking Poem for the Pacific Northwest is a different kind of poetry book. It functions like a long but segmented epic poem, with each section unique in its contribution to the whole. What delights is the imagery of the Pacific Northwest paired with both the common experience ...more
I'm not sure what to think of this book. There are portions of it that are beautifully written and capture the feeling of being outdoors and really working for it. But mostly, the book comes off as the inner rantings of an honery old man who's sick and tired of hiking and is annoyed with his hiking ...more
I wanted to like this more than I did. I think if I regularly read poetry I probably would have liked it more. I was interested in reading it as I hike in the Pacific Northwest. All the poetry was beautiful but there was honestly a lot of vocabulary I wasn’t certain on, which made it harder to appre ...more
Like many poems, the first read-through (which is all I’ve done so far) of this novel in verse is only enough for me to get a general sense of the meaning. I think a re-read, probably with a dictionary in hand, would be a great way to both appreciate and understand Guterson’s intentions on a deeper ...more
Guterson's sweet compact collection of poems that connect the reader to nature, isn't a book that you can say you've ever finished. Why? Because this kind of poetry has style, memory, nostalgia, and a very strong sense place. I admit that I am not an avid reader of poetry, but I will come back to se ...more
It does seem the reflections of a tired, uninspired, foot-dragging hiker who has lost the joy of living in the wonders of the woods and mountains. Mr. Guterson seems to be leaning on fellows (none other), without sufficient attribution (weak acknowledgement note) - directly quoting lines without quo ...more
Being a fan of David Guterson's novels I had hopes that this would be dramatic and interesting. Unfortunately I found it not so appealing. The introduction made it clear that it was written for hikers and climbers, and though I've done a bit that's not me, and it also made me a bit guilty I haven't ...more
This narrative poem focuses on the author's journeys through Pacific Northwest mountain ranges. It is also a metaphor for how we are in the middle or later part of our lives. When we are on a journey we often realize that we have to turn around and then go back. The illustrations add to the book. I ...more
I had a hard time with this one, which was doubly bad because I am reviewing it. I find it hyperlocal (Guterson names peaks and landmarks that only people well-acquainted with the Olympic Mountain region would understand, and he brings some weird mythical characters into his poem. I didn't really li ...more
If you love poetry, and you love hiking, you'll also love this really neat little book. It's a little "twisty" in spots, and a little humorous in others, and extremely clever in the way that it's composed. There are some references specific to the Pacific NW. The book is divided into "out" and "back ...more
As other reviewers mentioned, I had a dictionary by my side all the time. I never felt so much complex about my vocabulary before ;) Originally, I planned to read this on a hike, by a lake or at the summit. Glad, I didn't do that.
I personally loved the pacing and the meandering thoughts in the secon ...more
Beautiful, melodious stanzas of the hiking experience in the Pacific NW. Having hiked much here in Washington and Oregon, I could relate to the wonders and pitfalls captured in Guterson's enthralling verse. He captures the essence of the land, the wildlife, the effort, the weather, all that we encou ...more
A treasure book. David Guterson is one of my favorite authors, in this book he shares his love of mountains, hiking trails through poem stories of mountain. What I also like is the the great artwork. He let us participate on how he has been influenced by his Uncle Henry Shain, how poetry became part ...more
From the author of Snow Falling on Cedars comes Rain Falling on Pines and Firs. Being poetry this may have just gone right on over my head, yet I still believe it is just a collection of incredibly boring and grey (pun absolutely intended) poems for the PNW. Then again, I may just be an idiot. ...more
A narrative poem rich with Northwest imagery and hard-earned insight into the mental condition of hikers, especially Northwest hikers. This slim volume by the author of "Snow Falling on Cedars": is handsomely illustrated with simple line drawings of Cascade and Olympic mountain scenes. ...more
It's helpful if you're a PNW native and a nature enthusiast, but I'm only one of those things and enjoyed this walking poem very much, despite having a limited vocabulary and knowledge of some of the things that were referenced. The narrator's joy and wonder of the outdoors shone through. If you sim ...more
Hard to get into the rhythm of the poems when you have to look up may of the words. Once you do, you will appreciate it more. This begs a second read through. ...more