BOOK REVIEW: ‘After West’ by James Harms
Thursday, May 1st, 2008AFTER WEST. By James Harms. 77 pgs. Carnegie Mellon University Press. 2008. $14.95 paper
By Vic Burkhammer
MountainWord
WVU’s director of creative writing James Harms has published a new book of poems called “After West.”
This is his sixth, and it has me thinking again about the
whole notion of “west” and what it means.
“After West” the poem, the long centerpiece, weaves together many threads of the idea of “west.”
I simmer with possibilities while I read this book — I’m thinking of “The American Adam” by R.W.B. Lewis and how after the War of 1812 an air of optimism emerged in American life…. And then I’m thinking of the 20th century’s air of loss that extends into today. How we deal with that I think is part of what this book is about.
