Disappearing Act

In his debut poetry collection, Stephen Longfellow reveals a strange world of shifting images dwelling just below the surface of the ordinary. In this world, familiar objects—a mailbox, a fire hydrant, a battered recliner, our houses—lead lives unknown to us. Other things morph unexpectedly—the autumn wind becomes the rattle in his mother’s throat; a cloud, a bored fisherman; a tree branch, a phonograph arm; a wastebasket, a fish. Throughout this journey in which the unexpected lies just around every corner Longfellow guides us surely with wit, humor, and eloquence to a satisfying landing place we might even recognize as home.