Paper Anniversary (Pitt Poetry Series) Paperback – Import, 30 May 2010

Bobby Rogers is a poet bent on repair in a world bound to change. His voice calls to mind James Agee's lyrical gifts in the prose poem "Knoxville: 1915" that opens his masterpiece, A Death in the Family. Like Agee, Rogers chronicles indelible moments rooted deep in a known place: the landscape of Southern yards, fields, rooms, family and language that informed his childhood and the urban south of Memphis where many of the poems are set. In Paper Anniversary, Rogers reports from the middle of his life, savoring the change of light, its gradual ascension in a moment in history where, with our bright youth behind us, we stand on the threshold of a different grace. Elegy is infused with wonder and Rogers inhabits all, eye trained and ear fine-tuned, to speak to the cycles of longing and belonging in this world. The "resting places for the belongings we brought" in Paper Anniversary are as vivid as they are mutable, and his work asks hard questions: What to keep? What stays? What falls away?This is the opening of a review published in July 2011, in Valley Voices, the literary magazine of Mississippi Valley State University.

I am not a frequent reader of poetry but I know Bobby personally and have great respect for him. I was delighted to receive this little volume and read it with great interest. It speaks to me in a number of ways. There are poems that deal with work and working with ones hands, others that deal with outdoor activities and other aspects of daily living. I rather think it is somewhat autobiographical though Bobby wouldn't confess that to me. I commend it to all who have an interest in the mechanics of daily living.

I know Bobby and taught with him. I bought his book & send it via campus mail to be signed & it got stolen. I assume whoever stole it at a Christian college must love it.

This is a lovely book that I know I will read many times. The poems celebrate the beauty in the everyday; they are better - new layers revealing themselves - with each reading. Every one is a masterpiece, but the title poem is particularly moving. Treat yourself: find a quiet corner and enjoy this glorious work!

Professionally written book; very enjoyable. It is a book I would recommend to anyone who likes poetry! I hope to buy more books by this author in the future!