Seeking the Hook: New & Selected Poems - Paperback

by Lou Lipsitz (Author)

SEEKING THE HOOK, New & Selected Poems, published in 1997, contains poems from Lou Lipsitz two previous books, COLD WATER and REFLECTIONS ON SAMSON as well as eight-five pages of new work. The new poems are especially focused on exploring aspects of the male emotional experience - including the struggle to acknowledge depth of feeling, coming to terms with loss, being able to carry the weight of grief and to find use for the fires of rage. Some poems ask how to deal with the wounds one has received and also the wounds one has inflicted, knowingly or not. As Robert Bly described the poet's position in these new poems: "He's in the boat along with crazy Hungarian aunts and Brooklyn grandfathers, but he's also in the water more and more, a large fish looking for the hook of truth." The clear exploratory honesty of the poems, led George Hitchcock to say"the best of them are the equal of anything now being written in America."

Author Biography

Lou Lipsitz has published three books of poems, a political play, a textbook on American politics, and articles and reviews in the field of psychotherapy. Born in Brooklyn, he moved to North Carolina where, for thirty years, he taught political science in Chapel Hill. He left academics to become a psychotherapist, specializing in men's issues and life transitions. Throughout this time he has continued writing and publishing poetry. His poems have been widely anthologized and used in teaching literature. He was recipient of an NEA Writer's Grant and won the Allen Ginsburg prize in 2002. His newer poems take a more psychological perspective on personal development and family relationships. His writing is characterized by a searching personal honesty, a trenchant boldness, and a good bit of unexpected humor. Most of all, his images and surprising twists remain with the reader.