Mockingbird

By Derek Webster

In poetry that strikes a delicate balance between candour and lament., Mockingbird tracks the aftershocks of a failed marriage through a variety of self-portraits. Derek Webster's speakers itemize their regrets and fears while keeping sentimentality in check and the result is a first book of exceptional emotional power. Indeed, the distinctive and nuanced shapes of Webster's exquisitely controlled lyrics highlight the great achievement of his debut: a clipped, often aphoristic line-making stripped down to cold truths. The struggle isn't about being yourself, these poems argue, but about deciding which version of yourself to accept-and surviving the decision with equanimity. "Your small life wants to live in you / despite everyone's attempts to do it in."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1550654268
• ISBN13: 9781550654264
• Release Date: April 2016
• Publisher: Signal Editions
• Length: 80 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.4" x 8.3"