Certain Streets at an Uncertain Hour by Jeff Tigchelaar

Jeff Tigchelaar doesn't so much produce poetry as rescue it - from overheard conversations and discarded letters and library-desk graffi ti and his own stray thoughts: "I'm in a manmade capsule hurtling through the sky/ so if I die I probably deserve it." This smart, serious, hilarious first book is a no-kill shelter for memorable speech. --Eric McHenry, Poet Laureate of Kansas In Certain Streets at an Uncertain Hour, Jeff Tigchelaar is our intimate tour guide through his own unique hands-on museum, from the wild and offbeat to the quiet and subtle. My favorite poems here sound like William Stafford on jumping beans. Tigchelaar demonstrates an impressive range in form, style, and tone, but what he shows throughout is that he's paying close, close attention to the world around him, with love and compassion. --Jim Daniels, author of Show and Tell: New and Selected Poems Jeff Tigchelaar in his debut collection has gathered sharply observed details of daily life into an artful collage. Here are prose poems, found poems, imagined and overheard dialogue, double abecedarians - all from his off-center point of view, always at and in play. --Wyatt Townley, 2013-2015 Kansas Poet Laureate Jeff Tigchelaar speaks directly to his readers about politics, moral choices, and the beauty he fi nds in an imperfect world. This debut collection shows a poet ready to suggest solutions. Join him as he makes a difference. --Denise Low, Mélange Block author, 2007-2009 Kansas Poet Laureate