Adoptable

by Patrick Hicks

To adopt a child from another country necessarily means taking them away from their culture, their language, and their ancestral background. As the child grows up, what affect does this have? In this new collection, Patrick Hicks explores the thorny connections between home and away, blood and belonging, fatherhood and place, and he examines what it means to be a family. Full of humor, sensitivity, and startling honesty, these poems are about one man's journey to understand his son. Patrick Hicks is the author of eight books and his work has appeared in some of the most vital literary journals in America. A nominee seven times for the Pushcart Prize, he has been a finalist for the High Plains Book Award, and the Gival Press Novel Award. He is the Writer-in-Residence at Augustana College and a faculty member at the MFA program at Sierra Nevada College.

Genres: Poetry

74 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2014

About the author

Patrick Hicks is the author of over ten books, including The Collector of Names, Adoptable, and This London—he also wrote the critically and popularly acclaimed novel, The Commandant of Lubizec, which was published by Steerforth/Random House.

His work has appeared in such journals and magazines as Ploughshares, Glimmer Train, The Missouri Review, The Georgia Review, Prairie Schooner, Alaska Quarterly Review, Salon, Chronicle of Higher Education, Commonweal, Huffington Post, Guernica, The Utne Reader, and many others.

He has been nominated seven times for the Pushcart Prize, he was recently a finalist for the High Plains Book Award, the Dzanc Short Story Competition, the Gival Press Novel Award, and the Steinberg Essay Prize. His poetry has appeared on NPR, The PBSNewsHour, and American Life in Poetry. His first novel held company among only 20 books selected for National Reading Group Month and it was listed as a Top Pick for First Year College Programs. A winner of the Glimmer Train Fiction Award, he is also the recipient of a number of grants and fellowships, including awards from the Bush Artist Foundation, the South Dakota Arts Council, the Loft Literary Center, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He was recently a finalist for an Emmy and is the radio host of Poetry from Studio 47.

A dual-citizen of Ireland and America, he is the Writer-in-Residence at Augustana University as well as a faculty member at the MFA program at Sierra Nevada College. He has lived in Northern Ireland, England, Germany, and Spain, but has returned to his Midwestern roots. When not writing, he enjoys watching thunderstorms roll across the prairie with his British wife and he is a sucker for playing in the backyard with his son, who was adopted from South Korea.

Reviews

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is poetry that actually tells a story. It's easy & really enjoyable to read. Well done, well said.

[Lorna Sixsmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading these poems, straight forward in their approach, occasionally hard hitting, also compassionate

[Albinogoth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adoptable strikes an emotional core and makes the reader grapple with the concept of family.

[V · Rating 3 out of 5]

Forgot this goodreads first read was a poetry book but I enjoyed it anyway. It raised a lot of good questions and ideas. I hope his sone DOES read it when he grows up. I also hope the birth/caremom got and really understood the letter they sent to her as well. You could tell how much they were appreciated

[Staci Suhy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book for free as Parr of a first reads promotion