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Trees and Other Creatures
Both poets and non-poets will be delighted by the poems in this collection; they are approachable and thought-provoking, some might even say, "genially subversive." In Trees and Other Creatures, Teresa Scollon deftly loosens the boundaries between ourselves and those who share our world. Her layered vignettes explore the spirits of the animate and inanimate - chickens, dogs, a trumpeter, trees, a sofa, rocks - and we are given a path of fresh imagery into the emotional complexity of living, even in the midst of chaos: "It was as if the earth had opened its lungs on the ground before us: a rainforest..."
"…These are poems from a heart tenderized by deeply sharing in the suffering—and the joy—of all living beings. I feel as if she's my neighbor, and also the sage next door. You will love these poems."
---Fleda Brown
"…These are poems from a heart tenderized by deeply sharing in the suffering—and the joy—of all living beings. I feel as if she's my neighbor, and also the sage next door. You will love these poems."
---Fleda Brown
35 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2021
6 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 26, 2022
Well I absolutely LOVED THIS.
March 26, 2022
(another of the beautifully produced chapbooks from Alice Greene)
As you might expect from the title, this is a book of close perception of things in the world, wild things and some not so wild. The details are vivid, memorable. But what I like the most is that Scollon doesn't simply adore the beauty of the world (although she certainly does), but is willing to recognize nuance, or more than nuance, the moral contradictions of the world. Here's the beginning of one of my favorite poems, "Shame and Something Else:
Someone shot the beagle at close range
with a crossbow, the arrow stuck crosswise
through the body, just under the spine.
But a boy found the dog stumbling in the woods
and brought it in, worked off the vet bill in barter.
Our species is capable of both things!
As you might expect from the title, this is a book of close perception of things in the world, wild things and some not so wild. The details are vivid, memorable. But what I like the most is that Scollon doesn't simply adore the beauty of the world (although she certainly does), but is willing to recognize nuance, or more than nuance, the moral contradictions of the world. Here's the beginning of one of my favorite poems, "Shame and Something Else:
Someone shot the beagle at close range
with a crossbow, the arrow stuck crosswise
through the body, just under the spine.
But a boy found the dog stumbling in the woods
and brought it in, worked off the vet bill in barter.
Our species is capable of both things!
March 5, 2022
"I really loved this book and thought you might enjoy it, too...." is the inscription from the friend who gifted this to me. She was right. I DO love it. Not only is the book itself beautiful but so is the reminder of just how literature may connect us. It is a joy of mine.
November 12, 2025
Some beautiful poems about lessons from life growing up on a farm.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews