The Bandsaw Riots

By Arlitia Jones

Book Overview

Poetry. "This woman can flat-out write. Her work is so fresh and full of energy, the smoke's still rising from the page. She takes the grit of our daily lives and shapes it into wonder and surprise" - Jim Daniels. "I'm drawn to the voice of this butcher's daughter wrapping pork chops and steaks alongside the men, meditating on Yeats and Mother Jones; where the Alaskan winter stumbles onto the cutting floor in his white coat, hating his job. These are tough poems of toil and kin and Arlitia Jones is a poet. It's in her bones and blood. She takes the language of that place and uses it, like a tool, to chisel deep and lasting marks" - Dorianne Laux.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0965717771
• ISBN13: 9780965717779
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: Bear Star Press
• Length: 64 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.

Customer Reviews

visceral, witty, and genuine

I admit I am biased: I know Arlitia, I've taken a class from her. But that is not the reason I love these poems. Arlitia captures little glimpses of Alaska, her childhood, the people she loves, the places she's visited, the family business in meat processing and packaging ... it all jumbles together into a complex, thought-provoking collection of poems. She's simultaneously obscene and reverent; she touches on things that are real--and sometimes unsettling. If you can imagine finding beauty in sinews and bones, and in cursing, imperfect families, then you will love this book.