Steelhead - by Lauren K Carlson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"A wonderful tension rides along with the current of each poem in this lovely book-the rift between reality and passion, the pang between an earlier, freer life and a more mature one, and the temptation that floods the distance between doubt and faith. At no point in the book does the poet seek to resolve these rich and persuasive tensions, and that tells me we're in the life-giving province of art. This is a deeply satisfying book to read, filled to the brim with spot-on imagery and set adrift with well-timed phrasing and lines and sudden pauses that make the entire flow come alive with love and candor."

-Maurice Manning, author of The Common Man, Pulitzer Prize Finalist

Review Quotes

"Steelhead, Lauren K. Carlson's remarkable debut collection, is a Niedeckerian paean to place, shaped by the waters and winters of the rural Upper Midwest. In their explorations of isolation, family, faith, and the dynamic cross-currents between the natural world and the creative mind, these brilliant poems chart the dovetailings and divergences of 'life lived/and the life within' with fierce imagination and grace."

-Debra Allbery, author of Fimbul-Winter

"Like a fish-ladder allowing the Steelhead to leap falling water, poet Lauren K. Carlson runs language with and against, from observation to revelation. Rooted in the natural world and with great respect for our finitude, these gorgeous poems roam 'between the life lived/and the live within.' Formally inventive, rich, utterly alive. Steelhead is a magnificent debut, a collection of poems as ferocious as it is patient and wise. I want to know the world Carlson knows."

-Sally Keith, author of Two of Everything