Crossing the Narrows New Book Offers a Poet’s Observations in Three Acts

Chestertown, MD, April 09, 2009 --(PR.com)-- As a poet and a teacher, Robert Garson has devoted much of his life to educational and literary pursuits. Now retired, Garson is the author of a brand-new collection of poems, just released by Outskirts Press, called Crossing the Narrows. But it’s no ordinary collection of midnight musings; many of the poems were previously published in literary journals and other publications, and they all share a professional yet personal quality that should be quite appealing, both to poetry lovers and halfhearted fans alike.

His work has been called honest and insightful, filled with moments of passion and awkwardness, of love lost and found, and quiet self-realization. His poems are rich and layered, but accessible – and Garson is uniquely able to connect to his audience, perhaps as a result of his long career in public service. Not only did Garson teach English and creative writing to high school students for over four decades, but he worked closely with migrant families and developmentally disabled adults during his career as well. Perhaps it is this sensitivity to the human condition that enables him to reach his readers so easily – and so effectively.

Although this is Garson’s first collection of poetry to be published, he is no stranger to successful submission. His poetry and articles have appeared in Cold Mountain Review, The Christian Science Monitor, The Spoon River Poetry Review, The Trestle Creek Review, Riverrun, Pivot, and other publications. Crossing the Narrows is available through Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and at The Compleat Bookseller in Chestertown, Maryland.

Crossing the Narrows

I had been there
thirty years before the Holiday Inn and gentrifying condos,
carried a holiday basket,
seen the broken huts those folks called home,
laughed with drunken shuckers way past nightfall,
their stubby fingers shaping a mythic joy
that swelled and ebbed like baytide on the shore.

Nights like this, after a bad day, men howled:
cats in a gunny sack, spit with fury, paws
clawing other paws inside the slack,
about to drown, they stalked my bird-in-hand
with wide stone eyes.

Hard to tell those harvesters of how
the oyster’s pearl was whiter for the pain,
or why I crossed this bridge to measure men
too wild to free and too much feared to face.

ISBN: 978-1-4327-1120-7 Format: 6.14 x 9.21 paperback SRP: $11.95
Genre: Poetry

About the Author: Robert Garson received his BA from Gettysburg College and an MA from Villanova University. In addition to teaching high school English and creative writing for 41 years, he has also worked with adults with developmental disabilities, with migrant agricultural families, and in educational public relations. Garson currently resides in Chestertown, Maryland with his wife, Kathleen. They have two daughters and four grandchildren. Crossing the Narrows is his first collection of poetry.

For more information or to contact the author, visit www.outskirtspress.com/CrossingTheNarrows.

About Outskirts Press, Inc.: Outskirts Press, Inc. offers full-service, custom self-publishing services for authors seeking a cost-effective, fast, and flexible way to publish and distribute their books worldwide while retaining all their rights and full creative control. Available for authors globally at www.outskirtspress.com and located on the outskirts of Denver, Colorado, Outskirts Press represents the future of book publishing, today.

###

Outskirts Press, Inc., 10940 S. Parker Rd - 515, Parker, Colorado 8014
http://outskirtspress.com 1-888-OP-BOOKS