Beginning with its opening poem, 'The Invention of Time,' Ken Autrey's collection shows an attentiveness to the power of the past along with its riches and sorrows. The poems in CIRCULATION address the writer's upbringing, the influence of his parents, and in turn his aging, with accompanying bafflements and fulfillments. The poems often range far away from the domestic front but just as often reveal the natural marvels of his own backyard. Some of them address the challenge of employing words to convey the depths of love and attachment that sustain us. Whether the topic is skating on a frozen pond, feeding piranhas in a zoo, his daughter's preparation for her wedding, or a visit to a junkyard with his father, events here unfold vividly, sometimes with an element of mystery, always with a sense of wonder.
"Ken Autrey's far-reaching life equals the satisfying depth of his poems. There's a wide world in these pages, and a thoughtful, humble vision. Autrey writes with glorious precision and grace."—Naomi Shihab Nye
"To write about one's parents is to risk sentimentality, but Ken Autrey's poems are too taut for such a concern. They intertwine memories—personal, imagined, read about—and braid them into strong ropes of vibrant storytelling."—Keetje Kuipers
"These elegies conclude with remarkable subtlety, paying tribute to the life they're about by representing it truly. They include the routine along with the revelatory, and tender details as well as bigger ideas about the limits of a poet's knowledge."—Rose McLarney
Poetry.