Swan Bones
Ebook
Swan Bones is a book about small towns and the people who inhabit them. Its poems follow the author from the hills of the Mohawk Valley to the cornfields of East Central Indiana, where she's lived for nearly a decade. They deal in everyday ironies, and it is in these spaces that Bowman crafts a unique vision defined by her stark honesty, distinctive lyricism, and persistent hope. She proffers quartz crystals despite layoffs; moonflowers, which only open when night falls. The poems practice a hard faith, and invite us to do the same.
“Bethany Bowman’s Swan Bones carries in its pith both
animated mystery and inquisitive myth, the spiritual flavors of
‘portents, prophesies, the book of Revelation’ as well as of
blueberries that ‘know a wish has come true.’ Situated in a Mohawk
Valley childhood that evolves into a rural Indiana adulthood,
Bowman’s language is precise and imaginative, and her elucidative
landscapes enhance every poem; so like the ‘Lamb’s ear, rose-hip,
orange peel, [and] cinnamon’ in the potpourri Bowman writes about,
we want this book to last, as its ‘essence releases slowly.’”
—Julie Moore, author of Full Worm Moon and Particular
Scandals
“These are poems of home—the flowers, church yards, family tables,
and alleyways that continue to shape our lives even as our
addresses change. Bowman breathes life into the ‘big haunted souls’
of small towns and memories, calling us to consider our own
histories with tenderness and awe. This collection is a gorgeous
debut worthy of several, savoring reads.”
—Tania Runyan, author of Second Sky and What Will Soon
Take Place
“Swan Bones is an unflinching search for stability, beauty,
and identity, centering on Bowman’s mutable relationship with her
hometown. She asks pressing questions and prays low-lit prayers,
casting her net into the past and present—the Mohawk and Salamonie
rivers. In doing so, she captures long winters, encounters with
ghosts, and ultimately a spirit of forgiveness, which now blooms in
the Midwest.”
—JAE NEWMAN, author of Collage of Seoul
Product Details
- Title : Swan Bones
- Author: Bowman, Bethany
- Publisher: Resource Publications
- Publication Date: 2018
- ISBN: 9781532652899
Bethany Bowman is a nature lover and writer. Originally from New
York’s Mohawk Valley, she currently lives in Indiana with her
husband and two children and teaches ESL classes at Taylor
University. Swan Bones is her first collection of
poems.