Curses and Wishes - (Walt Whitman Award of the Academy of American Poets) by Carl Adamshick (Paperback)

About the Book

The award-winning author has great faith in economy and, like a true poet, trusts images to transfer knowledge that speech cannot. In "Curses and Wishes" the deceptively short, simple lines add up to a pensive book possessed with an astonishing lyrical melancholy, a harmony of sadness and joy that sing: "May happiness be a wheel, a lit throne, spinning / in the vast pinprick of darkness." It is through such poignant brevity that Adamshick can convey his own mastery and reflect on the human condition.

Book Synopsis

The unusual voice encountered in Curses and Wishes carries a quiet, slightly elevatedconversational tone, which flows from intimate secrets to wider social concerns.
The poet has faith in economy and trusts in images to transfer knowledge that speech cannot. In Curses and Wishes the short, simple lines add up to a thoughtful book possessed with lyrical melancholy, a harmony of sadness and joy that sings: "May happiness be a wheel, a lit throne, spinning / in the vast pinprick of darkness." By the close of this ambitious work the poet has inspired readers to see the multifaceted effects of our human connections.

About the Author

Carl Adamshick received an Oregon Literary Fellowship from Literary Arts and is a cofounder of Tavern Books. His poems have appeared in the American Poetry Review, the Harvard Review, the Missouri Review, American Poet, and Narrative magazine.