The Artist and the Crow

Set in a variety of landscapes, this collection of poems blends diverse cultural experiences through the poet's unifying eye: the watchful, patient eye of the crow. The poet's sympathetic vision shows his love for the physical world through which he moves and for the humanity he encounters. In the first two sections, Cornlands and London Poems, the collection moves from the cornbelt of rural Illinois to a modern vision of Samuel Johnson's bustling London. Within the third section, Scenes from a Tragicomedy, the poems shift to a variety of locations and are sometimes rooted in conceptual landscapes. Finally in Of Blight and Faith, the poet's tone grows more sober, reserved, and personal as he speaks of human courage and affirmation in a world frequently swirling with chaos.