Roving Enchantments

By Bruce Hesselbach

"To enchant: to cast under a spell, from L. incantare, to chant magic words; to charm or delight." Yes, the title of Bruce Hesselbach's first poetry collection has it right: these poems do "rove," over both time and space, to a tantalizingly imagined past, and to places that most of us can barely find on the map. And yes, they are "enchantments" in their sharp focus on the exotica of history. Whether the scene is a Civil War encampment or a Medieval battleground, the Far East, the Taj Mahal, or some fantasy landscape, the speaker of the poem is always direct and conversational in his approach, and thoroughly at home with the experience being conveyed. The language is natural and of a piece with the time and place into which the reader is being invited, creating an eerie, casual familiarity with strange surroundings that is reminiscent of Magic Realism, right down to obscure characters and events who are referred to as if they were intimate acquaintances. In "Sentry, 1864," for instance, the soldier on duty tells us that "The bandaged sunrise witnesses our throng / of dead and wounded..." inviting even the sky to share the carnage of the previous day. In addition to travel and history, this richly eccentric book contains observant nature poetry, a long confessional narrative, a requiem for a beloved dog that is a triumph of elegiac poetry without a trace of sentimentality, and much else that is hard to define and impossible to resist. And as for that "chanting," it works, whether the "magic words" occur in free verse, prose poems, or, as most often, in highly formal structures, all expertly used. This book is a delight, full of surprises that leave the reader wishing there were more pages to go. -Rhina P. Espaillat , author of eleven poetry collections and winner of the Richard Wilbur Award. Bruce Hesselbach's new book Roving Enchantments is an amazing collection of poetic ventures into various subjects: travel, exploration, hiking, mountain climbing, the natural world, and historical memory. More than simple narratives or remembrances, his poems are truly enchanting in their evocation of the real-world experiences and the journeys that were their occasion. And more than just a voyager's smiles, these poems also have a streak of the satiric and the elegiac, giving them a darker side. I am especially impressed with Hesselbach's poems that make excursions into history, mythology, and the realm of folkloric fantasy. -Joseph S. Salemi, Editor, TRINACRIA

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0692214186
• ISBN13: 9780692214183
• Release Date: May 2014
• Publisher: White Violet Press
• Length: 78 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.2" x 6.0"