My Late Mother as a Ruffed Grouse

The poems in My Late Mother as a Ruffed Grouse loosely chronicle Will Nixon's life from a suburban childhood in Connecticut to young adulthood in Hoboken and Manhattan to his present life in the Catskills, which began in 1996 when he left a mid-town apartment for a log cabin with a wood stove, a footbridge across a stream out to the road, and mice, lots of mice. Almost all of these poems first appeared in literary journals, including California Quarterly, Confrontation, Elysian Fields Quarterly, The Ledge, Main Street Rag, Rattle, Slipstream, and Wisconsin Review. Several appeared in regional anthologies. One was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. The title poem, "My Late Mother as a Ruffed Grouse," describes a true encounter with a wild bird after the poet's mother died.