Making the New Lamb Take: Poems

by Gabriel Fried

“It’s impossible for me to imagine poems more fully integrated or more fully realized than those in this book, and it’s heartening to me that these poems were written by someone young.”—Michael Ryan In Gabriel Fried’s debut volume, the reader weaves through details of daily life, dream-life, and the afterlife. In the process, we find ourselves unexpectedly amidst biblical and mythological stories so intimately retold that they seem populated by friends and relatives. Gabriel Fried lives in New York City, where he edits the poetry series at Persea Books.

Genres: Poetry

88 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2007

Reviews

[Teresa]

"The bog that bores into the orchard like decay into a tooth glistens like a ball field with algae."

This single line from the poem titled, "The Places We Knew Not to Go as Children" astonishes me every time I read it. For personal reasons, I adore this poem. It's my favorite out of this collection.

Fried's provocative phrasing, the images his words evoke keep me enthralled. His maturity, style and the flavor of his poetry seems to me more reminiscent of a soul who lived in the early 1900's...not someone contemporary, though lines sprinkled here definitely hint at that. I feel truly priviledged to have a copy of his work on my bookshelf.

[Elizabeth]

The opening poem? Amazing. Amazing. "In Utero," too, sings hard.

[Erin]

Beautifully quiet and crafted poetry. I was especially fond of "Noah's Dove."