fragile

by Jeffrey Thomson

Literary Nonfiction. Memoir. A book of stories, a book of near misses, a meditation, and a tribute to the ever- receding beauty of and sublimity of the world that is occasionally caught and held in the loose netting of language, FRAGILE is an intelligently eclectic rumination from a well-traveled and well-read storyteller. From the lush tropics of Costa Rica to the deserts of the American west, through the rivers of Alaska and into the cities of old Europe, Jeffrey Thomson's memoir offers a meditation on place, poetry, and mortality that becomes at once beautiful and nearly tragic.

"Richly layered and stunningly lyrical, FRAGILE is a poignant meditation on the landscapes and relationships that define us. Thomson writes with both a clarity of vision and a profundity of thought that will leave you breathless, humbled, and deeply inspired."— Kathryn Miles

"Life and death and poetry, love and loss, nature and spirit, joy and risk, delight in small things and large—these are among the pleasures of FRAGILE, a book to read in a gulp, and then to be savored in small bites for years to come. Jeff Thomson is a poet of the mind but also a poet of the heart, both figurative and literal, and here he proves himself a memoirist of the heart and mind as well. FRAGILE marks new territory for this accomplished poet, new treasure for his readers, new ways to think about our world."— Bill Roorbach

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2015

Reviews

[Betty]

Thomson's lyrical and literate memoir covers his travels through Costa Rica and Peru, Alaska, Europe and the American West, all the while weaving in the works of Keats, Elizabeth Bishop, and Dante. His knowledge of and appreciation for the natural world are stunning, and I was captivated by that as well as his pondering the universal dilemma of home vs wandering, invoking not only Dante's Ulysses, but also Huck Finn, Johnny Appleseed and Jack Kerouac. And he almost dies - more than once. Highly recommended.

Must add - Thomson is currently a professor of creative writing at the University of Maine in Farmington. Wes McNair brought him to the Poetry Express program at our library in Turner Maine, a few years back. Glad he did - I had come across only one of his poems (can't remember the title, but Louis Armstrong and Richard Nixon were characters in it) - or I would have missed this book.

[Jeffrey Poehlmann]

Jeffrey Thomson's Fragile is a book to be savored. It's dense and meandering and poetic, a loving tribute to our connection with nature; it's a travelogue, a mediation, a primer in history and geography, and a virtual comedy of errors. He has managed to pull off a delicate balance of self-effacing humor and highbrow art, walking a tightrope that would have led lesser writers down the road of irredeemable pretention. Instead, this is a book that takes a sincere look at language, meaning, the concept of place, and the eponymous fragility of existence; Thomson's life becomes metaphor, his prose transcends the confines of the page, and his reconstructed story both cautions and inspires.

And after it's done, the reader can go back randomly to any passage and pull further enjoyment from the text, along with possibly new meaning. A much richer literary experience than most books are able to offer.