Tug

by G.E. Patterson

Tug, a thoroughly contemporary first collection, astonishes with its scope and vitality. Ranging in tone from formal to informal, and in mood from longing to celebration, Patterson deftly articulates the shifting ground of human relationships. Different characters, male and female, people these poems. Whether it be the loving son, the unrepentant seducer, or the African American man admired by the world, the voices speak to us openly, with an honesty that is disquieting.

Arcing between the impulse to sing and the impulse to narrate or document, Patterson explores the ties of love, family, and history, and shows them to be as tenuous and elusive as memory and desire. Tug is a collection to be proud of and introduces a freshly distinctive new talent.

Genres: Poetry

88 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 1999

Reviews

[Rocky · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Plain and simple fact is that times together/ Come to mean a lot to the people gathered./ Seldom see this: Three generations making/ Family noises.”

[Mendi]

It was the summer of 2001. I had just come back from Cave Canem and had an ache I couldn't describe. I had just been immersed in an incredibly generous community of thinkers/writers and didn't know what I was going to do without them until the next summer. Feeling this loss, I called Evie Shockley ( A Half-Red Sea), who told me what I needed to do was read some poetry and suggested I get G. E. Patterson's Tug. I ordered it immediately. I always feel that a work of art possesses some magic when I experience this kind of healing. (Off the top: I also put Randy Weston's album Spirit of Our Ancestors and the Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane company dance De Man In The Water in this category.) What Tug opened up for me was a personal thing, so I don't know how others would experience, but I experienced the book as a kind of grace, knowledge that between encountering gentle spirits who challenged and affirmed me, I would be able to encounter new poetry that did that work. All I would have to do is seek it.

Some of my favorites:

"Green: A Bop"
("There are men hugging in the alleyways / And they do not separate as we pass")

"Autobiographia"
("I had everything and luck")

"The Responsibility of Love"
("Where you are now, the only lights are stars / and oil lamps flaring on vine-colored porches")

"Yard Talk: Hard Love"
("Don't be killing no chickens up in my crib"

"Cinderella"
("Seems like some people never get the blues / without Billie Holiday turned up loud / quart of Chivas at their feet")

"This Sock Worn Yesterday"
("Quit with your sad impression of a dog / And bone, digging it up, burying it / Digging it up")

"Improvisation with an Accordian (Braced)"
"I am dancing with a man This is new / He holds me close and I hold him A woman / By the wall quietly fingers her belly"

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful.