Patch Job is a collection of poems by Salmons that, in Cathryn Essinger's words, "are a homage to the men who shaped him, the machinists, mechanics, and carpenters, who taught him how to use spackle, to toss horseshoes, and to do a day's work, even when he knew that his job was to not be like my father."
From "Patch Job" (excerpt)
When he and Mom argued,
Dad punched holes in our walls.
His fist pierced the drywall
like Yeager through the sound barrier.
Hand-sized holes every few months,
as if bumps and bruises
where our house had fallen again.
to "Sycamores" (excerpt)
Mother always taught me to jump
into summer's first swim.
To rip off a Band-Aid,
quickly, as if it were a leech.
To move headlong through life,
the way she faced cancer.
Salmons offers glimpses of a life spackled with hardship and humor, a life filling with "Glory," "Cold," "Luck," "Whiteout," and "Slump Block." Other poems in Patch Job find that "God Wakes Up with a Hangover on New Year's Day," stroll "Lakeside at the Pentwater Yacht Club, Michigan," go "Creekin'," and wake up in a "Bed and Breakfast."
Steve Abbott says "In poems both wistful and realistic, Patch Job reveals a poet comfortable with science as well as soul. Chuck Salmons invites us to walk with him and embrace the wisdom of the natural world, the joy and pathos of memory, and a series of brisk metaphors that discover the infinite in the mundane."
Native Columbus resident Chuck Salmons is the current President of Ohio Poetry Association (OPA). His work has appeared in various journals and anthologies, including Pudding Magazine, Evening Street Review, Paradigm, Red Thread Gold Thread, The Fib Review, and Appleseeds. He won the 2011 William Redding Memorial Poetry Contest, sponsored by The Poetry Forum of Columbus, and regularly gives readings throughout the state of Ohio. Salmons earns a living as Publications Editor for the Ohio Geological Survey.
Patch Job contains 36 pages of 25 poems. The white, linen-textured, cardstock cover features a beautiful primitive art piece, "Ask Again Later," by Kevin Eberhardt. A rib-textured, deep blue, cardstock insert complements the cover. The text is printed on brilliant-white paper.
You can order your very own copy starting today, July 1st, 2017, for only $10, right here on this website through PayPal! All you need is a debit or credit card. Shipping is $4 (US customers only; out-of-country customers please contact the editor for shipping costs (nightballetpress@gmail.com). Please note: shipping on orders will begin July 11, due to the holiday.
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