Forge

by Ted Mathys

Contemporary Ohio, New York, and Eastern Europe form the backdrop for the beauty and pathos unleashed in these poems. Using the vernacular of his Rust Belt heritage, Mathys builds upon memory and myth in a passionate exploration of culture, faith, sexuality, and artistic creation. Reaffirming poetry’s place in shaping the perceptions of our world, these tensile, incantatory poems find lyric grace in shaping a poetics amidst the fragmentation of society. Originally from Wooster, Ohio, and a graduate of Carleton College in Minnesota, Ted Mathys has taught English in Hong Kong and worked for the US State Department in Berlin. A 2005 National Endowment for the Arts literary fellow, Mathys now lives and works in New York City.

Genres: Poetry

108 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2005

About the author

Ted Mathys is the author of four books of poetry including, most recently, Gold Cure (Coffee House Press, 2020). His honors include fellowships and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, Poetry Society of America, and Saint Louis Regional Arts Commission. He holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and lives in St. Louis, where he teaches at Saint Louis University and curates the 100 Boots Poetry Series at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation.

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't like this book the first time around, but am warming to it now.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ted Mathys is a brilliant, beautiful poet. He applies words to the page the way an artist applies color to a canvas, and sometimes you just have to pause and stare closely at a particular combination of words or juxtaposition of phrases and allow them to soak deeply into your consciousness in the hopes that you'll remember them for later. Or at least that you'll remember the way they made you feel.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

read my proper review on the bark blog:

http://thebarking.com/2010/05/bark-re...

[Christina M Rau · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. I love the cover.
2. The poetry, especially the poems involving catalogs, is intriguing.
Overall, a strong book of verse.

[Brittany Larson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll be honest - I don't think I have any idea how to rate a book of poetry. Any suggestions?

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

1st read: 12/1/09
2nd: 3/24/15