Southeast Missouri State University Press

Balancing on a Bootheel: New Voices in Poetry from Southeast Missouri

Jon Thrower & Susan Swartwout, editors

Publication: 2006
Pages: 76

The poetry in this book doesn’t try to be avante garde, but it seeks to convey the emotion of the authors to the audience in a variety of moods and styles. Each poet in this collection has a distinctive voice, and none of them play coy with the audience. This isn’t chic poetry—it’s very meaningful. The images are brilliant.

This is the collective voice of people who live in a small town that they love, but they know there’s a big world out there and they want to see it.

Featuring

Clay Matthews

Shawn McLain

Ben Marxer

Nicole Trokey

Doc Bertram

Nicole Stanfield

Michael G. Howell

Jarret Green

Jon Thrower

The poets featured in this collection are young writers from Southeast Missouri, and they represent some of the exciting talent popping up in the area. They are involved in local writing collectives, work with various literary magazines, and have been published in various literary magazines.

Trade paperback, $10.00
ISBN: 978-0-9760413-3-7