Firewood and Ashes

Encompassing forms as diverse as the free-verse lyric, the sonnet sequence, the verse letter, and the meditative monologue, this selection from Ben Howard's six previous books demonstrates the breadth of his cultural awareness and the depth of his poetic achievement. Ranging in locale from Eastern Iowa to Western New York to Dublin, Ireland, these present-centered but historically-minded poems integrate the conventions of Western verse with the insights of Eastern meditative practice. -- cover