The Long Silence of the Mohawk Carpet Smokestacks: 2nd Edition
In the tradition of Winesburg, Ohio and other American spirit-of-place collections, the poems in The Long Silence of the Mohawk Carpet Smokestacks center in a small, industrial community in New York State's Mohawk Valley. According to Joshua Mays, "Stephen Haven proves that working-class literature may exist independently from the work place... Haven concentrates on the personal moments, the private thoughts, and situations working-class people find themselves in outside of the factory or workplace. The result is a rich portrait of the American soul.... Haven's descriptions infuse each piece with an ordinary beauty that seems deeply symbolic.... This collection is elegant, thoughtful, and above all, beautifully involved in the lives and substance of the characters."
This second edition of The Long Silence of the Mohawk Carpet Smokestacks adds six new poems to Haven's first book about the town that shaped him. Haven went on to publish three additional collections of poetry, Dust and Bread, The Last Sacred Place in North America, and The Flight from Meaning, as well as one book-length memoir, The River Lock: One Boy's Life Along the Mohawk.
"Stephen Haven understands the sawdust-in-the-pores desolation of old mill towns with their poisoned rivers: places where "the sky is an indigenous gray," and salvation must be imagined from the gift of what-is. Most remarkably, he infuses this "lost architecture" with a terrifying elegance. Haven's vision gives sustenance because we recognize its accuracy and take comfort in a grace as unsparing as it is profound. There is nothing facile here, no easy epiphanies, just the steadfast gaze of a poet who deeply understands the American psyche in its past and present guises, a history peopled by deviant Puritans, vandals, and outcasts, the power of a place we can leave that will never leave us. Ablaze with intelligence and a fierce musicality, his poems are indelible."
-Alice Fulton, winner of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature and author of Felt, winner of the Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry from the Library of Congress
"In this remarkable collection of poems, Stephen Haven beautifully encapsulates the duality of America--its beauty intertwined with a profound sense of loneliness and loss. These verses transport us to a time when working-class life flourished in post-war America, inviting reflection on a past filled with prosperity and decline. Through his sensitive portrayals, Stephen gives voice to those of us rooted in the working class in the Midwest, rural upstate New York, and across the country.
Haven's articulate metaphors evoke deep emotions, capturing the essence of life before and after our national industrial decline. This collection serves as a poignant meditation on what once was--a world that can never be reclaimed, where corporate abandonment left workers in the abyss.
The Long Silence of the Mohawk Carpet Smokestacks brims with contemplative poems that demand to be felt and remembered. From the once-thriving Mohawk Valley to the early days of the first East Coast Puritans, culminating in reflections on the significance of it all. This is a collection to savor and cherish. It serves as a powerful reminder of our shared heritage."
-M.L. Liebler, Author of Hound Dog: A Poet's Memoir of Rock, Revolution and Redemption (Cornerstone Press/University of Wisconsin).
Related Subjects
PoetryCustomer Reviews
ThriftBooks ® and the ThriftBooks ® logo are registered trademarks of Thrift Books Global, LLC
