Dispatch from the Mountain State encompasses the trademark themes of a mature poet--death, despair, dread, and the seeming randomness with which all of these come into life. The dispatches provide, if sometimes obliquely, a keen awareness of the troubled times within which we live, whether the flashpoint be race, the recent pandemic, or the reckless onslaught of the Appalachian mining industry, which is masterfully addressed in the long poem, "The Breach." Harshman's distinctive vision remains both surreal and familiar, whether expressed in a sonnet or the more common free-verse characteristic of most of his work. This collection of over forty poems sings with a fluid voice and dazzles with imagery that surprises and rings true, often underlain by and intertwined with the darker threads of our common living and dying as contemporary Appalachians. It is rare to find a poet like Harshman, who is deeply connected to the life of rural America and yet writes poetry untouched by any sentiment for the old ways found there.
About the Author :
Marc Harshman is poet laureate of West Virginia. He has published eight collections of poetry, including the award-winning titles Woman in Red Anorak and Believe What You Can. He is also the author/coauthor of fourteen children's books. Harshman was recently named the Appalachian Heritage Writer for 2024 by Shepherd University's Appalachian Studies program. He holds degrees from Bethany College, Yale Divinity School, and the University of Pittsburgh. He lives in Wheeling.
Review :
"In these necessary poems, Marc Harshman masterfully travels the vast chasm between a full life and everything dead but still remembered, providing fortunate readers with a blueprint, a map, a simple reason to keep climbing, no matter how many apple trees throw us down, proving yet again, there is no substitute for experience. And there is no experience too big or small for words."
--Frank X Walker, author of Load in Nine Times: Poems and Affrilachia: Poems
"Marc Harshman has long been one of our best poets but with Dispatch from the Mountain State he achieves new heights. This is epic storytelling told in intimate moments that articulate the complex heart of Appalachia through unforgettable imagery and keen observations. A stunning, heartbreaking, and ultimately healing collection."
--Silas House, Kentucky Poet Laureate
"Unflinching, Dispatch from the Mountain State wrestles with contemporary chaos, but illuminates the sweet stillness alive under it; mourns our desecrated natural world, but reminds us it's the sacred that's eternal. The sequence 'The Breach' is possibly the most original and unforgettable poetic treatment of water and extractive industries I have ever read."
--Ann Pancake, author of Me and My Daddy Listen to Bob Marley: Novellas and Stories
Praise for Believe What You Can (2018, WVU Press): "Believe What You Can overflows with rich lines and vivid images as the poet laureate of West Virginia speaks to classic concerns of loving the land, struggling to thrive, and holding on to what can be believed."
--Ron Houchin, author of The Man Who Saws Us In Half: Poems
