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The Gatehouse Heaven: Poems
"Kimbrell sings a serious song. . . . The poems are deft and sure, there is a sense of vision in them, and I have the feeling that this is the start of something significant."-from the Foreword by Charles Wright
In his debut collection (selected by Charles Wright as the 1997 winner of the Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry), Kimbrell revisits the mysterious landscapes of childhood and returns with poems that fathom meaning yet retain a sense of awe. The book's title section, a poignant ten-part poem, portrays a son's lifelong struggle to connect with a father made absent by mental and physical "It's quite/The wonder, what madness can do for a man,//Much more than me far below the harsh light of heaven/Down here, in the make-shift center of this world." The Gatehouse Heaven serves as testament and guide to the kind of love that lies beyond anger.
James Kimbrell has received a Ford Foundation Fellowship, a Henry Hoynes Fellowship, and the Ruth Lilly Fellowship. He was twice winner of the Academy of American Poet's Prize and also received the "Discovery"/The Nation Award and Poetry magazine's Bess Hokin Prize. His poems and co-translations (with Jung Yul Yu) have appeared in magazines such as Poetry, The Antioch Review, The Quarterly , and Field . He is currently completing his Ph.D. in creative writing at the University of Missouri, Columbia.
In his debut collection (selected by Charles Wright as the 1997 winner of the Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry), Kimbrell revisits the mysterious landscapes of childhood and returns with poems that fathom meaning yet retain a sense of awe. The book's title section, a poignant ten-part poem, portrays a son's lifelong struggle to connect with a father made absent by mental and physical "It's quite/The wonder, what madness can do for a man,//Much more than me far below the harsh light of heaven/Down here, in the make-shift center of this world." The Gatehouse Heaven serves as testament and guide to the kind of love that lies beyond anger.
James Kimbrell has received a Ford Foundation Fellowship, a Henry Hoynes Fellowship, and the Ruth Lilly Fellowship. He was twice winner of the Academy of American Poet's Prize and also received the "Discovery"/The Nation Award and Poetry magazine's Bess Hokin Prize. His poems and co-translations (with Jung Yul Yu) have appeared in magazines such as Poetry, The Antioch Review, The Quarterly , and Field . He is currently completing his Ph.D. in creative writing at the University of Missouri, Columbia.
- GenresPoetry
80 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 30, 2015
A lot of words sung in here are words I wish I had the capacity for in certain moments in my life when I was spiraling in the regret for not being able to find the words, or to just plain see through the time I was experiencing. I am grateful to have them now, to open myself back up to places I wanted to run from and places I have been hiding from. They will be back, because that is living, and at least I have these now.
p.shaw
p.shaw
January 22, 2010
Winner of the 1997 Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry, selected by Charles Wright
Runner-up of the 1999 Norma Farber First Book Award, from Poetry Society of America
Runner-up of the 1999 Great Lakes Colleges Association New Writers Award
Recipient of the1998 Whiting Writers Award
Runner-up of the 1999 Norma Farber First Book Award, from Poetry Society of America
Runner-up of the 1999 Great Lakes Colleges Association New Writers Award
Recipient of the1998 Whiting Writers Award
April 18, 2023
From the first of James Kimbrell's poems that I read-True Descenders-I was instantly hooked. How can you start reading a stanza "surely the wine-veined/ gold-tipped fornicators must relish / some pleasure in the last hurling spiral" and not carry on to devour the rest of his work? His lines are full of strong images and the way in which he writes them is simply musical. It is a pleasure to analyze both his subject matter and the ways in which he masterfully conveys it.
October 13, 2008
Kimbrell was one of my poetry professors in college, and this is one of my favorite collections.
January 31, 2020
Charles Wright did well in picking this winner. I enjoy the collection's overall structure, and many of the poems caused me to stop reading and reflect on the imagery used and the emotions evoked. Wonderful collection.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews