Sheppard Ranbom is a poet and writer whose latest book, Shadows of the Pines, is now available from Finishing Line Press.
Thoughts on Writing
Shadows of the Pines
A comic novella in verse, Shadows of the Pines follows Harold Rava’s quest to bring poetry to millions of readers, one solitary reader at a time. Harold is joined in this pursuit by the ghosts of celebrated poets and thinkers at an Italian restaurant, the Pines of Rome, where he teaches his students to draw from the dust of life and follow the rules of the field: to encourage idleness and contemplation, to stand for small things in the woods of their own imagining, and to make what Hopkins called “great strokes of havoc.” But before Harold can succeed in his quest, he must learn to treat the words he uses with respect and dignity. And he must come to grips with his own limited power and place as a poet. To his surprise, Harold ultimately recognizes that it will not be the United States but Albania where poetry will flourish.
Advance Praise for Shadows of the Pines
Sheppard Ranbom’s Shadows of the Pines is a work like none I’ve encountered in my decades as poet, editor, and critic. It is, among other things beyond enumeration, a satirical novelist’s look at what I call “creeping MFAism,” as appraised and critiqued by his stalwart, eccentric protagonist Harold; a learned gazetteer of several literary traditions; a philosophical inquiry; and perhaps above all, a sustained display of Ranbom’s relish of—and his enviable skill with—language.
–Sydney Lea, Vermont Poet Laureate (2011-15) and author of 16 poetry collections