In these tightly crafted poems, Jerry Bradley measures his life and discovers cause for both rejoicing and tears. Finding wonder in unexpected and unlikely places -- a funny sign on a sewage truck, a work detail in Louisiana, the act of gutting a fish -- he pulls metaphoric rabbits out of hats to transform the ordinary into the remarkable. A sense of urgency underlies Bradley's surface wit as he confronts the implacable realities of aging, time, and mortality. Whether he's assessing the ravages of Hurricane Harvey, Paul McCartney's guitar, Robert Frost's elegance, or the fallout from love lost and found, Bradley brings to the page an ultimate honesty that will leave his readers on their feet cheering "Author! Author!" Honor is due.
Carol Reposa, 2018 Texas Poet Laureate, author of Underground Musicians
Truly a stunning book. Bradley risks wading into the disastrous flooding of Hurricane Harvey described as "fickle as a two-dollar knife," and the result is that the reader floats off on his humor. The book is a rare achievement wedding the deep hurt of disaster with our ability to cobble together a vision in a bar where "Even the barmaid is as fresh as a fossil." He brings to us the vitality to get up the next day for a drink or to keep swimming. Bradley's easy wit is offered with intelligence and insight into the human condition: "what counts most is what we learn / after we already know everything else."
Walter Bargen, first Poet Laureate of Missouri, author of Until Next Time
Review :
Jerry Bradley knows his job as a poet. What he delivers in Collapsing into Possibility is poetry at its best: skilled, subtle at times, colorful with well-observed detail, meaningful, witty, human, with no obscurity or pretension. I am struck by how mature the poetry is. It is always enjoyable but never shallow. Poetry that one wants to read slowly, reread and come back to again later. Repeat the words aloud to see how well they are chosen not only for meaning but for sound as well.
Jonathan Bracker, author of Attending Junior High
In Collapsing into Possibility, we avid followers of Jerry Bradley's work are again treated to his brilliantly subtle and refined wry takes on the world. Though the mostly narrative poems are personal, readers will find themselves deeply engaged and enlightened with the fresh wisdom so artfully woven within. Bradley is a master at depicting life's ironies.
Dave Parsons, 2011 Texas Poet Laureate, author of Reaching for Longer Water
