Greg Keeler has gradually gained a larger audience over the past decade by producing poetry that is elegant, humorous and acute. Keeler's world - that of a traveler, a member of a family, a man by a river - is recognizable to all, but slightly off center.
I am no judge of what makes poetry good or bad. I only know these manly odes to hunting and fishing didn't do much for me, though I did appreciate the author's sense of humor. One poem made me laugh aloud, and I'm recording it here so I'll remember it.
Telling Grandma to Shut Up
She just sat on the hen house stoop and cried and I tried to explain how with Mom and Dad it was well sort of a joke meaning sure whatever you say but let's pretend I'm in charge even if I'm not like those cartoon ducks you see on T.V. that are for it no matter what but by then all I could see was her bonnet above her shaking shoulders and I even offered to get the strap because I knew I deserved it even though I didn't mean it and I'd never say it again but no she just kept crying so pretty soon I went around to the front of the house and picked her a big yellow rose and when she saw it che cried even louder because she had wanted her friends to see it there on the bush so she stopped crying and said o. k. go get the strap.
There are plenty of five-star ratings for this book, so I would take other reviewers' advice on this one, other than mine.
Great earthy, funny poetry. One of my favorites: On the Big Two-Fisted River
The man took the woman fishing. She did not like to fish, but she had decided to go with him anyway because she needed someone to support her. He baited her hook. He cast for her. He hooked a fish for her. He reeled it in for her. The next time, he let her cast, and she put a bad backlash in the line. He swore loudly at the backlash And she hit him in the face.
Ephiphany at Goofy's Gas by Greg Keeler (Clark City Press 1991)(811) is a collection of poems by an author whose main focus seems to be fish. Having read another book by Keeler, and my local public library having no other works by the author, I ordered this from Amazon. I much prefer his prose, but I'm not really much of a poetry guy. My rating: 5/10, finished 6/12/12.