say, said

By Fred Dale

Fred Dale's full-length poetry collection say, said, winner of the Driftwood Press Manuscript Prize is a lyrical exploration of a life through a blending of voices, pop culture, and language experimentation.

Dale utilizes form by playing with punctuation and spacing to create something both uniform and surprising. A lifetime collapses into a sequence of stories told by a distinct and powerful speaker.

This collection, in its interrogation of a life, is lush and imagistic, with themes of masculinity, family, love, the natural world and Catholic iconography. Saints populate the rugged American territory. The speaker searches for truth in the past and, in doing so, invites the reader into a contemplation built on genuine understanding.

Dale's voice is meditative and searching. It is also, at times, comic. This book is populated with characters who speak through persona, and with natural metaphors, birds, fish, and bees, which splash and flit through every page.

say, said does not focus on a single place, rather, it travels through America, particularly the South, like a road trip through memory and the interactions that make a life.

say, said is for fans of lyric poetry, history, religion, myth, and for anyone wanting to understand what it means to cultivate a meaningful, loving life.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1949065405
• ISBN13: 9781949065404
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: Driftwood Press
• Length: 92 Pages
• Weight: 0.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 7.4" x 9.0"