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Hibernation and Other Poems by Bear Bards
Predominantly in free verse, these wide-ranging poems address all aspects of contemporary (two-legged) bearish life: changing standards of masculinity, male romance and lust, maturing men's body issues, and what it means to live and love within the worldwide gay male bear community. The poems are sometimes introspective, sometimes erotic, sometimes amusing - but they're all well-crafted glimpses of the bear experience. This thoughtful, fun, and moving book features more than one hundred poems by forty esteemed authors, including David Bergman and Albert Skip Brushaber, whose homonymic, eponymous poems give this anthology its title, plus noted writers Alfred C. Corn, Jameson Currier, Gavin Geoffrey Dillard, Jack Fritscher, Daniel M. Jaffe, Raymond Luczak, Jeff Mann, Ron Mohring, Felice Picano, Jay Starre, Jim Stewart, Dan Stone, and Emanuel Xavier and many fine poems from other American and Canadian contributors. Poetry lovers and bear-loving men alike will appreciate the diverse range of contemporary masculine voices in Hibernation.
- GenresPoetryAnthologies
218 pages, Paperback
First published April 17, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 21, 2014
A 2014 RAINBOW BOOK AWARD FINALIST
Praise from Rainbow Book Award judges for HIBERNATION, AND OTHER POEMS
“This work, this anthology is a gem. Full of unexpected surprises and delightful sallies into wholly foreign realms. A delight, a bucolic frolic, an earnest journey, a vigorous climb up the mountain of our own understanding, and a foggy glimpse into the glade of our own souls where bears in all their myriad forms dance beneath the stars. By turns funny and poignant, wry and crass, it’s a pocketful of honey drizzled goodness. None of the poems in and of themselves is perfect, for all poems are only ever abandoned in despair of their achieving the greatness we first saw in a flash of inspiration…yet the sum of their individual flaws is, in a word, perfection.”
“Love, love, love this. So many authors, so many emotions, in fact, if I may, I’ll call this a rainbow of emotions. From the sublime to the thought provoking; from innocent to ‘don’t tell anyone you’re reading this book.’ It’s all there, and I was left wanting more only because of the quality of the writing. In my years as a Rainbow Award judge, I have never given a perfect score, until now.”
Praise from Rainbow Book Award judges for HIBERNATION, AND OTHER POEMS
“This work, this anthology is a gem. Full of unexpected surprises and delightful sallies into wholly foreign realms. A delight, a bucolic frolic, an earnest journey, a vigorous climb up the mountain of our own understanding, and a foggy glimpse into the glade of our own souls where bears in all their myriad forms dance beneath the stars. By turns funny and poignant, wry and crass, it’s a pocketful of honey drizzled goodness. None of the poems in and of themselves is perfect, for all poems are only ever abandoned in despair of their achieving the greatness we first saw in a flash of inspiration…yet the sum of their individual flaws is, in a word, perfection.”
“Love, love, love this. So many authors, so many emotions, in fact, if I may, I’ll call this a rainbow of emotions. From the sublime to the thought provoking; from innocent to ‘don’t tell anyone you’re reading this book.’ It’s all there, and I was left wanting more only because of the quality of the writing. In my years as a Rainbow Award judge, I have never given a perfect score, until now.”
July 7, 2015
I wish there were a way to rate each poem separately, but overall this book was amazing. A privately owned book store in Ann Arbor, Michigan was selling this and I could not resist to pick it up.
Some of the poems were lacking, but the ones that weren't were really astounding.
I'm excited to see if there will be another anthology heading our way like this.
Some of the poems were lacking, but the ones that weren't were really astounding.
I'm excited to see if there will be another anthology heading our way like this.
November 16, 2014
Lush, complex, and richly textured. Pieces alternate from humorous to sentimental to scorchingly erotic. Not all of the pieces will appeal to every reader, but they are all exceptionally well done. I love this collection and recommend it highly.
December 6, 2015
2014 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention (5* from at least 1 judge)
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews