The poetry of Scott Owens traces the contours of loss and hope, possibility and renewal. A heartfelt quality or soulfulness, best defined as the determination to speak honestly and courageously of important personal matters, pervades this book and gives it emotional urgency page after page. Drawn to what he calls “a poetics of excess,” Owens nevertheless embodies Cocteau’s definition of tact–“knowing how far to go in going too far”–while striking a similar balance between long poems and haiku-like or koan-like short ones, which provide a kind of seasoning for the feast of the whole. Especially notable at the book’s center is a love poem Neruda would have been happy to write, the laser-intense “You in the Tomb of My Eyes,” a paean to the night that anchors the surrounding testimonies to a life lived passionately and thoughtfully. Owens knows poetry is a serious business; while various other poets these days might seem caught up in gamesmanship, this poet plays for keeps.
–Philip Dacey, Editor of Strong Measures
Eye of the Beholder is available for a discounted pre-order now on the Main Street Rag (click link). The book is scheduled for release in January 2014.
