Chuck Kruger Lunches New Poetry Book.
William Wall, Irish poet, says of Chuck and his book: He brings an American sense of vastness to the tiny island of Cape Clear, and other even tinier islands of self and other, a diction that Frost would have recognised coupled with a strong feeling for the character of place and the place of character. From the fisherman whose feet know the secret steps that lead down the cliff to the lobster boat, to the young man crouching ‘in a low vaulted cellar … amongst the abandoned amphorae’ in Jerusalem, Kruger observes them all. There are meditations on animals, seals and insects, or at least on human encounters with those creatures, on nature, on man’s footprint in it, and man’s departures from it, on love friendship and community.
Tom McCarthy, another fine Irish poet, says this: A sense of the spiritual in primitive places in the manner of Laurens van der Post, an overwhelming sense of wilderness in the manner of Sigurd Olsen: these are at the very heart of everything Chuck Kruger writes and broadcasts.… His life and lifestyle is rooted in deep thought and contemplation and it is no surprise that the recurrent heroes of this collection of poems are the butterflies, the Red Admirals, Painted Ladies and Large Heaths, which survive the ferocious winter and spring storms of Cape Clear….
Richie, the newsletter editor, a slightly less-well-educated pleb, says 'it is a jolly good read.' He goes on to say, 'perhaps it is my lack of higher education which allows me to enjoy this collection so much. I have read widely and can say that, probably like many others, I can usually select two, three, maybe four poems by major/minor poets that speak to my heart, but with this collection that number is exceeded. It helps also to be grounded in the being of an island to appreciate the beauty within many of the poems.
Chuck's new book, Sourcing, may be ordered direct from: Chuck Kruger, Glen West, Cape Clear Island, County Cork, Ireland. It costs €12, plus €1.30 postage within Ireland and €2.85 for elsewhere in the world. It may also be ordered through http://www.emara.com/ or http://www.kennys.ie/
