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pturnbull's review
5.0
A Ranch Bordering the Salty River(Finishing Line Press) is a collection of twenty finely wrought poems by Stephen Page that tell the story of a man seeking paradise within a fallen world. Jonathan is an outsider who marries into an Argentinian ranch-owning family. He becomes the administrator of its twenty-five hundred acres and approaches his work with reverence and respect. In the opening poem, which takes place during a hard drought, Jonathan thinks that he can “enter the Myth / of Wood, the legend of its shade / to lick the dew off leaves.” At first, the obstacles to encountering “Lady of the Violets” are domestic, but they still feed his soul: a “moon phase” dog (in “Our Dog Dominic”), a child with “lake eyes large as sky,” a world with “sharp-scented jacaranda” and “mist guarding us from trees” (in “Hen Eggs”). Soon the poems become populated with a variety of exploiters and cheats known only as Tattler, Post Maker, Malingerer, Cattle Thief, Horse Thief, Accomplice. The mythic Wood recedes, changes. But the idea of it still drives Jonathan.
The poems in this collection are lovely and evocative. Page is precise in his descriptions; he tells us the lot number where calves are born, the number of months without rain, the number of kilometers the ranch is from the sea. Page knows how to surprise the reader with his word choices. In “The Drought,” “the pods hang brown and brittle / the leaves twirl dunly.” Poems are rich with detail of character and setting. One of my favorites is “Dear Santa Ana,” a letter Jonathan writes to the ranch itself. In it, we meet “the eighty-two-year-old neighbor who begged with palm held out,” and feel how the land “exhaled as if you had been holding your breath for a very long time” after new locks were installed.
But the biggest treat here is the theme: the man who seeks the divine, both in the Wood and outside on the ranch. The journey Jonathan takes on this quest might seem like endless labor, but I’m with him every moment. Each poem is a beauty, the tone amplified by Jonathan’s seeking, even when we learn the reality of “shit on your shoes, shit on your / pants legs, shit on your truck, shit / on your hands…” (from “Tree Root”).
Page is an accomplished poet who weaves a strong spell. I highly recommend A Ranch Bordering the Salty River to all poetry readers. I am grateful to the poet for providing me with a review copy.
The poems in this collection are lovely and evocative. Page is precise in his descriptions; he tells us the lot number where calves are born, the number of months without rain, the number of kilometers the ranch is from the sea. Page knows how to surprise the reader with his word choices. In “The Drought,” “the pods hang brown and brittle / the leaves twirl dunly.” Poems are rich with detail of character and setting. One of my favorites is “Dear Santa Ana,” a letter Jonathan writes to the ranch itself. In it, we meet “the eighty-two-year-old neighbor who begged with palm held out,” and feel how the land “exhaled as if you had been holding your breath for a very long time” after new locks were installed.
But the biggest treat here is the theme: the man who seeks the divine, both in the Wood and outside on the ranch. The journey Jonathan takes on this quest might seem like endless labor, but I’m with him every moment. Each poem is a beauty, the tone amplified by Jonathan’s seeking, even when we learn the reality of “shit on your shoes, shit on your / pants legs, shit on your truck, shit / on your hands…” (from “Tree Root”).
Page is an accomplished poet who weaves a strong spell. I highly recommend A Ranch Bordering the Salty River to all poetry readers. I am grateful to the poet for providing me with a review copy.
armand_rosamilia's review
4.0
I'll be the first to say I'm not a big fan of poetry. To me this is so much more, though. The story itself weaves and wanders and is so vivid. The author definitely has a way with words and I look forward to reading more from him in the future.
booksteacupnreviews's review
4.0
*** Note: I received a review copy of this book from the author, in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to author. I’m glad I got a chance to read this book. ***
This story is collection of in poetic verses about the life of Jonathan, a rancher.
This is little difficult for me. I love reading poetry but honestly I don’t have any idea how to review it. So, I will tell what I understood from this beautiful poetic story.
‘A Ranch Bordering the Salty River’ was narrated by Jonathan, the main character of the story who lives in his ranch house near Salty River. First few poem tells about Jonathan and his happy family life with Teresa his grandchildren, his pull towards woods and nature. The poems told more about his life before he started ranching, how he do the patrolling his ranch and taking care of cattle was chasing away rabbit hunters, capturing cattle thief, interviewing for roll of capataz, dealing with his partner who wanted to saw grass and modify soy on his farm how he treated his employee fairly. There was one verse about working on cow pasture which was funny.
Overall, the story that tells about hardworking life of a rancher and day-to-day work and problems that he have to deal with. In few words I learned a lot of things about rancher.
I guess poem lovers can give a more fair review of this poems and they would love to read this.
This story is collection of in poetic verses about the life of Jonathan, a rancher.
This is little difficult for me. I love reading poetry but honestly I don’t have any idea how to review it. So, I will tell what I understood from this beautiful poetic story.
‘A Ranch Bordering the Salty River’ was narrated by Jonathan, the main character of the story who lives in his ranch house near Salty River. First few poem tells about Jonathan and his happy family life with Teresa his grandchildren, his pull towards woods and nature. The poems told more about his life before he started ranching, how he do the patrolling his ranch and taking care of cattle was chasing away rabbit hunters, capturing cattle thief, interviewing for roll of capataz, dealing with his partner who wanted to saw grass and modify soy on his farm how he treated his employee fairly. There was one verse about working on cow pasture which was funny.
Overall, the story that tells about hardworking life of a rancher and day-to-day work and problems that he have to deal with. In few words I learned a lot of things about rancher.
I guess poem lovers can give a more fair review of this poems and they would love to read this.
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