The Heronry

by Mark Jarman

Ordinary people seek connections to the natural world and each other in the poems of The Heronry , a collection that presents a series of spiritual encounters in the form of praise poems, lyric portraiture, and meditations on faith and belief.

Mark Jarman is the author of ten poetry collections. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Genres: Poetry

88 pages, Paperback

Published January 10, 2017

Reviews

[C. Varn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark Jarman grows on me as I age--his highly religious themes and very formal sensibilities scared me away when I was younger, but even though I don't share his worldview, the beauty of his verse and his intense observation make him on the finer poets of my lifetime. Jarman's poetry bursts with the natural world: birds, forest, and gardens populate the first section of the collection. Indeed, in the beginning, Jarman's poetry almost reminds one of Robinson Jeffers, a poet whose sensibilities mirror Jarman's but whose worldview Jarman would find very alien. Then in the second section, Jarman moves to the social world, writing poems which work as vignettes and character studies of people that populate Jarman's world. Then Jarman moves to travel, the larger world in general, and even a Mose-like argument with God. I mention the structure to point out how, even though sometimes Jarman feels effortless, this collection builds on itself and carefully crafted, not just on the level of individual poems, but as an experience as a whole. Excellent.

[Emily Magnus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly pretty meh. A lot of the poems I was like ??? What’s happening here. Usually I can find a little diamond in the rough but nothing really popped in this one

[Brian Wasserman · Rating 2 out of 5]

too modernist, too full of allusions.. readers want more poetry and less allusions

[DW · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good.

[Alyson Indrunas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Favorite poem: "Prosím"

[Peter Spaulding · Rating 5 out of 5]

What really distinguishes MJ from other contemporary poets is an abiding charity and willingness to see and love the characters of his poems. What irony and humor comes in to play he never lets dominate the tone of the poem. There’s always something wrong and something to love about the world and his characters.

Highly recommend to all.