A Balancing Act

by Jim McGarrah

A Balancing Act is the fifth book of poetry by award-winning poet Jim McGarrah. With new and selected work, this book explores the cultural landscape of America, both past and present. These poems take readers on a journey through the gritty backroads of America--through a childhood fraught with beautiful tension, the experiences of a soldier in Vietnam and its aftermath, and the reflections of a man who has seen both himself and the world around him change. Part beat, part confessional, and part jazz, these poems memorize with craft, wit, and perhaps most poignant, their honesty.

188 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2018

About the author

Jim McGarrah's poems, essays, and stories have appeared in many literary magazines over the past decade and the author of ten books. His play, Split Second Timing, received a Kennedy Center ACTF Award in 2001. He is the author of five books of poetry, Running the Voodoo Down (2003), When the Stars Go Dark (2009), Breakfast at Denny's (2013), The Truth About Mangoes (2016), and A Balancing Act: New and Selected Poems 1998-2018, a critically acclaimed memoir of the Vietnam War entitled A Temporary Sort of Peace that won the 2010 Legacy Nonfiction Award from the Eric Hoffer Foundation and the sequel entitled The End of an Era. His nonfiction account of life as a horse trainer, Off Track, was published in 2015 and Misdemeanor Outlaw followed in 2017. Jim is also co-editor of Home Again: Essays and Memoirs from Indiana and a founding editor of RopeWalk Press, as well as the former managing editor of Southern Indiana Review.

Reviews

[Robin Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his latest collection, Jim McGarrah measures his life in memories both in new poems and those garnered from his previous collections. That there is a plethora of emotions sewn into McGarrah’s poems is no surprise to those who have previously read his work. His poems reflect on his struggle to find meaning and wisdom in life, and he weaves his words into a colorful, life-filled tapestry. He shares his bittersweet revelations: “I am a man whose life has been worn away/by time, and yet lucky on certain mornings/to be filled with a mysterious sort of wonder . . .” Anyone who reads McGarrah’s work will be filled with that same sense of wonder.

[Katherine Hoerth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the collection very much and would recommend it fans of poetry, Beat writing, and have an interest in the Vietnam War. It's a poignant and powerful collection of poetry that's accessible, thought-provoking, and wholly enjoyable to read.