Pine - (Carnegie Mellon University Press Poetry) by Jonathan Johnson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Poems that travel through time and terrain, seeking solace in the raw physicality of the world.

To grieve is to search. In Pine, Jonathan Johnson's poems travel across continents: through Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the Scottish Highlands, the Greek islands, and the mountain wildernesses of the American Northwest, seeking meaning in the spaces left behind. These poems embrace the raw physicality of place, uncovering the deep textures of the natural world as both a witness and companion to loss.

Amid the perpetual elegy of everything, Pine offers moments of improbable wonder. Johnson's voice is steady and rich with narrative, guiding us through landscapes of memory and wilderness alike. In this intimate collection, grief and grace are intertwined, and the world--against all odds--goes on.

Review Quotes

Previous praise for Jonathan Johnson's poetry:
"I prize Jonathan Johnson's stunning new collection, In the Land We Imagined Ourselves, and I believe in the lives found here."-- "William Olsen"

Previous praise for Jonathan Johnson's poetry:

"I love the blasting, rock and roll energy in Jonathan Johnson's poetry. . . . Though it is tinged with sorrow, In the Land We Imagined Ourselves makes me glad of heart--makes me, in Johnson's better words, 'happy to be hungry in the oh so cinematic air.'"-- "Campbell McGrath"

About the Author

Jonathan Johnson is a poet, author, and MFA professor at Eastern Washington University. His poems have been published widely in magazines and anthologies, appeared in Best American Poetry, and heard on NPR. His previous works include three books of poetry, Mastodon, 80% Complete, In the Land We Imagined Ourselves, and May Is an Island, as well as two memoirs and a play. He migrates between his hometown of Marquette, Michigan; the coastal Scottish Highlands; and the American Northwest.