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If Words Could Save Us
Abbott, Anthony S. | Catalog | Feature | New Titles | Poetry
Anthony S. Abbott
Anthony Abbott’s most recent collection of poetry is stunning in both craftsmanship and sensibility. In poem after poem he forges a compassionate pact with the world, and like all enduring pacts, it is one that sustains and confirms—the poet’s life, ours, and the great healing powers of language.
- Robert Hedin, Author of “Old Glory” and Co-Editor, “Great River Review”
Reviews:
Charm is difficult to define but we know it when we see it and we see it on every page of Anthony Abbott’s elegantly crafted, moving poems, whether elegiac, confessional, allusive, or slyly comic. Though dealing with deep affairs of the heart - loss, sainthood, memory’s wounds - Abbott writes, to borrow Marianne Moore’s words, in language cats and dogs can understand. His sixth collection is likely to engage anyone who picks it up, both those who avoid poetry as well as the happy few who are addicted."
- Joel C. Connaroe, President of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial FoundationOh Lord what a wonderful book — joyous and profound. Tony Abbott deals with nothing less than the great circling round of life itself, the whole ball of wax: from youth to the unexpected grace of old age. 'The gifts of the heart are holy' indeed, and words can save us, if they are Tony Abbott’s. This volume epitomizes the highest pleasure and purpose of poetry."
- Lee Smith, Author of "Mrs. Darcy and the Blue-Eyed Stranger" and "The Last Girls"About the Author:
Anthony S. Abbott is the Charles A. Dana Professor Emeritus of English at Davidson College where he served as Department Chair from 1989 to 1996. He is the author of four critical studies, two novels and six books of poetry, including the Pulitzer nominated The Girl in the Yellow Raincoat. His awards include the Novello Literary Award for Leaving Maggie Hope (2003), and the Oscar Arnold Young Award for The Man Who (2005) as well as the Irene Blair Honeycutt Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts. He lives in Davidson, North Carolina with his wife, Susan.