Poet Gary Grossman has done it again! He's written another fabulous collection of poems that left me wanting more. "Kale cultivars embrace frost, and their sage-green to rosy bodies makes them as luscious as freshly licked nipples on an arching chest," the poet proclaims in "Covering the Beds." Grossman's unique style and POV are impressive, and make this book a must read. -Alexis Rhone Fancher, author of Brazen, Triggered, and The Dead Kid Poems Gary Grossman's poems combine a scientist's cool detachment with a poet's intense yearning to create a voice uniquely his own. He looks back at a traumatic childhood with clarity and compassion, and at the complexities of everyday experience with humor and wisdom. Broadly speaking, the poems focus on the wonder of life and the inevitability of death in the human and the natural worlds. More specifically, they address the poet's awareness of his own aging and mortality, which is always closer than it appears. -Eric Nelson
In Objects in Mirror May Be Closer Than They Appear, poet Gary Grossman uses mirror and microscope to observe the closer-than-you-think past. With equal care, he analyses outer layers of pretense, disguise, and skin. Combining the personal and the scientific, he sees beyond the moment. "Even in poetry," Grossman explains, "genius begins as atoms no one else has cleaved." Filled with birds, gardening, and mating, Objects in Mirror addresses-in prose poems and free verse-the humorous and the heady. The poet moves easily from decaf espresso, Zoom poetry readings, and old Woody Allen jokes to his mother's bipolar disorder, bully foster brothers, and a collapsing spinal cord. As Grossman states, "My wife says I'm less bruised than most old apples." He suggests aging is "a matter of survival," a claim made with rejoicing and resignation. Yet these poems, both tart and sweet, are ripe and ready for the picking. Enjoy. -Marjorie Maddox, author of Seeing Things
There is a lot to admire in Gary Grossman's work in general, and in Objects in Mirror May Be Closer Than They Appear in particular. He deals with life and the world with sensitivity and insight. He sees through artifice and lies brilliantly, and he gives us moments of great beauty. But many poets can do this. What distinguishes Grossman's work is that he has the soul of a poet, but the education and training of a scientist. He understands what great nature poets all understand, that the beauty and magic of nature is contained in the science that describes it. He unlocks the magic of nature for us. Through his work, we understand the intricacies of the natural world, but with his poet soul, he shows us the natural world with grace. -John Brantingham, former Poet Laureate of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Biography Gary Grossman is Professor Emeritus of Animal Ecology at University of Georgia, and an author of 150+ scientific articles that have been cited over 9800 times. Gary has poems, short fiction and essays in over 70 literary reviews including: Streetlight, Verse-Virtual, Sheila-Na-Gig, MacQueen's Quinterly, Salvation South, Meat for Tea: the Valley Review Verse-Virtual, Rust and Moth, and Delta Poetry Review. His poetry and short fiction have been nominated for a Pushcart and Best of the Net (2) with one nomination pending. For 10 years he wrote the "Ask Dr. Trout" column for American Angler Magazine. Gary's poetry books Lyrical Years (Kelsay), and What I Meant to Say Was... (Impspired Press), are available from Amazon. His 2023 graphic memoir My Life in Fish-One Scientist's Journey... (Impspired) and his gourmet venison cookbook A Bone to Pick also may be purchased from Amazon.
