BkMk Press Publishes First Book by
Iowa Poet as Winner of John Ciardi Poetry Prize
KANSAS CITY, Mo—BkMk Press at the University of
Missouri-Kansas City will publish Fence Line, Curtis Bauer’s first
collection of poetry, on Dec. 1. Winner of the 2003 John Ciardi Prize for
poetry, Fence Line brings together the rural and the urban, the
familiar and the foreign, the artist and the farmer.
“These poems vivify the landscapes that remain with
the one who leaves—and returns, changed,” writes poet and Pennsylvania State
University Professor Robin Becker. Indeed, in the title poem, “A Fence Line
Running Through It,” Bauer relates the experience of coming home; “my hands
have lost their calloused ridges;/my sweat, strain and ache are buried, and
I/wander up and down this gravel road/dissecting Hilton Township.”
Christopher Buckley, who selected Fence Line for
the Ciardi Prize, writes, “In a direct language, in imagery which always
arises from an experiential base, in the details of a landscape, in the
spare light of the past, Bauer demonstrates the considerable skill and
humility necessary to uncover what epiphanies are available in a life and
make some sense of the rush of the experience.” Buckley teaches at the
University of California-Riverside and is the author of ten poetry
collections.
Bauer’s varied experiences—from building fences on an
Iowa farm to teaching English in Spain—bring a quiet honesty and integrity
to the poems that encapsulate these memories. He takes us to the place where
“we share café con leche/while boys play/a football match the
future/of the world depends on.”
After graduating from Central College in 1992 as a
“disgruntled political science major,” Bauer spent the next four years
teaching English in Mexico and Spain, respectively. He currently teaches
English and co-directs the Writing Studio at Cornell College in Mount
Vernon, Iowa, and lives in Iowa City. His writing has earned such
recognition as the Inkwell Poetry Prize and selection as a finalist
for The Iowa Review’s Iowa Award for Poetry, The North
American Review’s James Hearst Poetry Prize, the New Letter’s
Literary Award, and the GSU writing award.
“I’d like someone to read these poems and stay awake
for a while thinking about the people who are/were significant in their
lives,” said Bauer. “Riff on that beautiful woman in the car driving away,
or that couple asleep tangled in their limbs next door and learn from these
experiences. Learn to see the details and embrace them and think of how
these minutiae can add to one’s life. I don’t think that’s asking too
much.”
Fence Line is available from SPD (Small Press
Distribution) in Berkeley, California (www.spdbooks.org),
and from other wholesale and retail outlets. Fence Line is $13.95 in
trade paperback, ISBN 1-886157-48-0, 83 pp.
BkMk Press was founded in 1971 and became part of UMKC
in 1983. Financial assistance for BkMk Press is provided by the Missouri
Arts Council, a state agency, by UMKC, and by private donations. Media
review copies of Fence Line can be requested by calling (816)
235-2558. For more information, contact Michelle Hopkins at (816) 235-1592.
The University of Missouri-Kansas City, established in
1963, has the following strategic goals: In 2006: We are a national leader
in scholarship and creative activity; We attract, nurture, and develop
responsible community leaders; We are an essential community partner and
resource; We are a workplace of choice; and We have the resources to fuel
our vision.
* Individuals with speech or hearing impairments may
call Relay Missouri at (800) 735-2966 (TT) or (800) 735-2466 (voice).
