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Crow Search: Poems & Definitions

by James B. Fields

149 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); illustrated; catalogue #05-0620; ISBN 1-4120-5722-1; US$20.00, C$25.00, EUR16.25, £11.26

"It Is What It Is": Crow Search is poetry off the forbidden tree. Ever vigilant of evil, but always tenaciously in its face to inquire: why not, with these opportunities and tools, try for goodness?

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About the Book      About the Author      Excerpts      Catalogue Information

About the Book

Crow Search is as serious as it is insane. It hosts a gamut of tones presented through lyrical phrasing. It is poetry best read aloud* -- evoking and emphasizing these vacillating tones. On the one hand, it is personal and clearly heartfelt; on the other, overtly political and hell bent. And the midsection of this three-part collection is principally absurd in nature. The author believes Crow Search is as good as it is bad i.e. the quality, or lack thereof, of its craft. "Quality of content is not easily objectified." In effect, it attempts to make a statement of how life treats us -- *at least those who would be reading an assortment of English poetry. That said, some may find it maniacal, or even self-indulgent, but at no time does it approach pedantic. If it appears in spots to be didactic and stuffy, the tone has become toneless, and the author's facetious invention has become satisfied. It is tongue-in-cheek; it is a work of fiction.

There is no motive, thesis, or centerpiece. It avoids such singularity in the hope it captures a larger, more versatile tenor. It is not about a fixed perspective, but an endless journey, a search for experience, and a desire to create a lasting visual impression and verbal memory.

Do not take Crow Search too seriously. The author is not about lessons, but he is about laughter and thought. It is a book long in the making*one that took several years to compile. Keep in mind, its very unsystematic quality suggests its very intention.

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About the Author

James B. Fields was born in Oxford, England in 1968. His parents were both middle-school teachers, who possessed a rather liberal lifestyle. When Jim was five, his family, older brother Joe included, moved to the American Heartland -- *Iowa. His father started an English pub in the town of Des Moines. As a child, Jim was very athletic, and confessed to not reading his first "book" until he was fourteen. In his own words, he preferred images plastered unforgotten. "I like pictures far better." Jim attended Catholic schools until he went the University of Oregon, graduating with degrees in Literature and Philosophy. He currently resides in south central Alaska, where he works as a woodworker and summer mountain guide. He is married with two young daughters.

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Excerpts

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Catalogue Information

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