Hand-Stitched, by Mike Hackney

Poetry, chapbook, 20 pages, from Bottlecap Features.

In Hand-Stitched, we are called to meditate upon the deep descriptions that often accompany acute observation. As the adventure begins, we find ourselves wandering through an amusement park. We can sense the excitement in the air as we whirl down the page; but the author leaves room for a pause—a moment of contemplation.

As we turn the pages to meet other poems, we are often challenged by the natural world or the streets of a mean city. Sometimes we are trying to find our true selves. The poems offer comfort to stargazers and travelers, but never lets you rest too long before being swept up in the challenges of life and the delight of words that symbolize the journey.

The poetry in Hand-Stitched is rich with imagery and insight. Built out of imagistic and formal concerns, the poems are swift and quickly pronounce themselves as complete worlds in and of themselves; whether we are wandering college campus seeking a lost love or sashaying down to the ‘crippled and shadowy pond’ under Mary O’s Moon. Hand-Stitched is a delight for those who appreciate the art of storytelling, and the art of poetry itself.

Mike Hackney has recently penned the poetry for The Unforgivable Gossamer Sadness, a poetry and rock opera (coauthored with music by Scott Fish). He has published three books: The Downturn (poems, 2011); Midwestern Shoes—Your Poetic Self All Over Again (a field guide of essays and critical approaches to poetry, 2007); and Learning To Write (poems, 2003, in collaboration with George Schmidt). His works have appeared in Thirteen Myna Birds, Cornfed Angel, Broadway Bards, Gasconade Review, Artifact Nouveau, White Wall Review and Passengers Journal. He lives in Toledo, Ohio.