Lizard Season

Norah Pollard sings movingly of loss and love punctuated with bursts of wit. She is a beautiful storyteller, eloquent and above all--best of all--she doesn't flinch from the truths of her life. Her poems are compassionate, wise and unflinching. Christie Max Williams writes,"In Lizard Season, as in all her earlier work, Norah Pollard's voice is accessible, generous, and above all, trustworthy. It's a direct, irreverent, muscular voice - a Yankee's voice. The stories contained in these new poems are so consistently and impressively compelling, and so wonderful in their narrative and emotional range, as to achieve a worldly, universal appeal and power. Many are from the poet's own life, but many others give insightful glimpses into the lives of ordinary people who have experienced extraordinary moments. These stories are often funny. And like ancient fables, they deliver epiphanies of authentic emotional wisdom. Pollard also consistently enriches her tales with gem-like turns of phrase, some of them deeply memorable and true -- 'You don't know a man until you see / the compass of his compassion.' Pollard has long been known as one of New England's best poets. With Lizard Season, it may be time to reckon her one of America's best poets."