August 24, 1957

The good and prolific Bob Cooperman's long winning streak continues with August 24, 1957, his new collection of smart, punchy narratives. Cooperman's genius is in storytelling-prior books have honed in on his love of basketball, the Grateful Dead, his family of origin, and America in the 60's. Also a historian, he's written deeply about 19th century frontier Colorado. In this chapbook, Cooperman mines his own history after a storm upends a glass table on his patio. Broken glass! And Cooperman's taken back to the blood and damage of the summer day he ran through a glass door. 67 years later, Cooperman begins the second poem of the collection, "Some things you don't forget." The twenty-four poems here make for a tough, victorious remembrance of a life-changing accident.

-Ken Waldman, author of the poetry collection Sports Page



I've long been an admirer of Robert Cooperman's poetry. He is a master at building narratives in poems. In this new collection, August 24, 1957, he examines a childhood accident that remains a potent force in his life decades later. The body wasn't the only thing wounded-but the emotional wounds send down deep roots. Cooperman is unafraid to show those wounds, to examine them afresh, to help us see our own wounds in new ways.

-Ken Pobo