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The Saugus Book
Book by Sheehan, Thomas F.
134 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1984
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November 12, 2022
The phrase that comes to mind is "The Manly Art of Poetry." These free verse poems are a celebration of the town of Saugus and of growing up in it, leaving it, and coming back to live in it as a man. Topics include military service (in Korea), daddy-time with children, business, industry, construction work, carpentry, bonds between men in a family or at a bar. Now 93, Sheehan grew up close to the same times and places, and wrote about the same beaches, Sylvia Plath did. Comparisons come to mind as I read. I think the awareness of sound in Plath's poems made them more "poetic," but Sheehan's poems are fresh and different; his reflections on an Atlantic beach lead to thoughts about mining and mineralogy. In a time when so many publishers don't even want to look at manuscripts written by White men, I think this Irish-American writer and his book might be of special interest to young men, but this old lady enjoyed it too.
Displaying 1 of 1 review