Who Knows? - Softcover

Jeremy Toombs

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1909136972 ISBN 13: 9781909136977

Publisher: Burning Eye Books, 2017

Synopsis

Well, I've now spent more years in Bristol, England than I have anywhere else as an adult. That's more than six years by the time you've read this. And though not many British folk would agree, I've lost a lot of that Kentucky accent; folks back home do look at me funny, ask me where I'm from. I am from Kentucky but do feel like I'm from a lot of different places spread out all over the world by now.

Though my backpacking, living abroad days are mostly behind me, I've been fortunate to do some travelling these last couple of years though only for a week or two at a time as opposed to the months of freewheeling I was used to from my 20s. I feel the pull of Kentucky/Tennessee home now more than I ever have. I reckon that comes from having my own family and realizing how important family is. I've my own little boy now who you'll meet in these poems. I'd say you'll also meet, briefly, some of the more inner journeys I've been on as I gain a little age, thinking all the way back to my own childhood, farther back than my memory will go even. Being a family man now, my writing has necessarily changed as the times I have to write tend to come in big chunks when I can get a day or half day to myself and then all that writing that needs to come out comes out. And here's some of that regurgitation here for you.

This bio can only give so much of my life; you can get a little bit more from these here poems. Enjoy.

About this title

About the Author

From Tennessee, into fatherhood, high on a mountain trail, along the river, and through everyday occurrences, 'Who Knows? reports back on what's happening, what's been seen, what's been felt, all from one particular, peculiar, point of view. These poems were written in brief moments, strung together to provide a thread through parts of my life; a point of view, a philosophy of life, whatever you want to call it, mine shows here, hinted at, pointed to, inherent in the very process of writing and found under the stones of the words laid down. I've put a lot of time into mostly Tang Dynasty and earlier Chinese poetry(unfortunately, in translation) which served to inform western poetry's modernist movement which led to the Beats who in turn led me to that Chinese source material in the first place.

There's a lot of place happening in these particular poems; more poems about my home and family in Kentucky. Despite living for more than five years in South Korea, it wasn't until a recent visit that I actually wrote about my favorite place in Korea, Bukhansan. Two of my favorite places in England get featured in quite a few poems: Frog Mill where the Buddhafield Village Retreat is held each year, and a certain part of the Frome Valley Walkway where it comes into Bristol. Poetry for me has always been about making a record of moments in my life, as long as those moments see me with my notebook to hand. These moments can capture a feeling or simply record an event; at the best of times I suppose the poems manage to convey the scene or the feeling of a moment. If you read this, then read these poems, I hope some of my transport comes across to you and, most of all, I hope you enjoy the poems, whatever they may do for you.

Edition details

• Publisher: Burning Eye Books
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1909136972
• ISBN 13: 9781909136977
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 65