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Worship the Pig, Gaylord Brewer’s eleventh collection, is by the poet’s own definition his “Americas book.” The migration begins from his Tennessee home to the Inside Passage of Alaska, then detours sharply south in a return to his beloved Costa Rica, then onward finally to the qualified paradise of Brazil’s Ilhabela. Brewer’s persistent obsessions—translating the call and challenge of the feral world, negotiating some truce with private ghosts—have never been more poignantly and sharply drawn. From chiseled lyrics to more expansive narratives—by turns reserved and raucous, always heartfelt and riveting—these new poems exhilarate. “No schematic for conquest, / no reckless conclusions, // no tenuous argument for connection / beyond the simple truth / of what accrues together.” At mid-career, the author called “the most natural poet in the country” by the Asheville Poetry Review continues to astonish.
"Gaylord Brewer is the most natural poet in the country." —Asheville Poetry Review
"Brewer’s a wonderful writer. I love his language. His eye. His attitude. His love for the world. And his poems do what they are meant to—they tell us to pause, to wake up, to see, to not squander the immensity and beauty and pain of our lives. We have to see it all, feel it all, he’s telling us, exhorting us, this heartbroken guide, this wise, sad, and funny poet." —Jonathan Ames
"Worship the Pig—there, in one breath, the sacred and the profane. Just know that in Gaylord Brewer’s world, the profane is also venerable, what is simple is likewise profound, and what is commonplace is remarkable. Brewer is an enchanter, who casts his spell with words that are clear, precise, and illuminating, words that carry us away to a more vitalizing world than the one we live in, to a world of simple pleasures and bountiful blessings. One may read this book as a litany of reasons for living an intentional life, even in the face of bracing sadness. Brewer knows that the first act of writing is noticing, and that paying attention is giving praise. I suggest you buy this book, pour yourself a drink, settle into your easy chair, and dive in. You won’t come up for air until you’re done. That’s how I read it. Twice. And I’m still seeing the world through its invigorating lens." —John Dufresne
"The speaker is conversational, wandering, and full of a pleased and grateful awe that invites the imagination to watch its playful work." —Southern Review of Books
"The poet’s craft extends throughout the book, in every poem, from the confessions of a self-remonstrating animal lover to the comedic delight of life in a foreign country, to the sweet and sorrowful admonishments of humanity as it revels in the sheer joy of paradox 'in this big-ass world,' 'full of romp and circumstance.' This book of odes, 'Done Right,' spans continents and topics in its journey to a holy kind of happiness, though certain readers may at times be advised to apply a grain of salt. For anyone invested in the succulent nature of poetry, this is praiseworthy work." —Sugar House Reviews