Blue Jesus

by Jim Daniels

A collection of poetry by Jim Daniels.

Genres: Poetry, Fiction

80 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2000

About the author

James Raymond Daniels (born 1956 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American poet and writer. Like his father and many of his friends, Daniels worked for the Ford Motor Company before college. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Alma College in 1978 and a master’s degree from Bowling Green State University in 1980. In his writing, he addresses the issues of blue collar work, adolescence, and determining the role of a poet. The factories proved a setting for many of his poems, which describe the hardships factory workers face.

Since 1981, Daniels has been on the faculty of the creative writing program at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he is the Thomas Stockham Baker Professor of English. The majority of Daniels' papers can be found within the Special Collections department of Michigan State University's main library.

Daniels' literary works have been recognized and highlighted at Michigan State University in their Michigan Writers Series. He won the inaugural Brittingham Prize in Poetry in 1985 from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Reviews

[Joan Seeger-Boughton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

[Alicia Hoffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the poems were transcendent; some of the poems were gimmicky. Most rode a fine line between the two; a commendable feat.

[Andrea Janov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite of Jim Daniels' works, but the first section was striking. This easily could have entered trite territory, but each poem stood its own and expanded off the page and into the world.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book takes place in the deep rural south with white "sissy" boy Buddy and his best friend Early, who's blue (like the blue people of Troublesome Creek, whose blood doesn't process oxygen well and thus makes them appear blue). Buddy and Early find a dead baby in a dump and Early brings the baby back to life with a supernatural gift for healing. It's a pretty good story--the plot is engaging and moves a good pace. Some of the characters seem a little under developed, but overall, it's a good read.