| Synopsis: |
The poems grapple with issues of gender and personal identity surrounding his wife coming out as a lesbian after 14 years together and how those notions must be opened and challenged. "Individually powerful and collectively poignant, these poems explore the world of the male in pain, and his struggle to understand why. This poetry strives for an appreciation of what it means to be raised male in America in the past half-century, both considering generations of deep, Irish ambivalence and recent, personal relationships gone awry. With allusions to the lake with its constant, uncharted movement or the loon dashing and gliding just above the surface, here masculinity slides slowly and graciously into a new realm: one of peace filtered through conflict, forgiveness wrested from anger, comprehension gathered out of confusion. When people arrive on these uncharted shores, conflicted and bewildered, dashed on the rocks, out of the chaos and the uncertainty, Hogan manages to save some of them while letting others go. What that process does to him provides a fascinating story, one at times grave, and at others, familiar and at ease. Either way, any notions about masculinity or identity that readers of either sex bring to these poems will be challenged." -Peter F. Murphy, Author of Studs, Tools, and the Family Jewels: Metaphors Men Live By |