"Not least because of his heroic efforts on behalf of the art through his leadership of Calling All Poets, Mike Jurkovic is rightly something of a local legend-especially in the sense that we all need a legend to interpret the map. From the profoundly moving first poem, "Blood Street," to the fasci-nating account of "My Meeting w/ Vonnegut" and beyond, Buckshot Reckoning richly delivers on its promise of what he calls mishap and magic. In his latest affable, shrewd, and politically acute collection, we find a kindred spirit to the Kerouac of Mexico City Blues, poems overflowing with what Kerouac described as Love's multitudinous boneyard of decay / The spilled milk of heroes." - Thomas Festa, Professor of English, SUNY New Paltz, author of Earthen"Bravely and boldly, Jurkovic announces the second scene/of the third act. In Buckshot Reckoning the poet confronts both mortality and criminality as he confesses that the age/of repair/ is upon me. Such repair is difficult in the context of a world gone batshit but that difficulty is exactly what Jurkovic engages with. The poems are clearly influenced by the poet's deep involvement with music either as directly alluded to (Screaming Jay Hawkins and Me in Our Prime) or in poems like crack n stack in which the repetition and cadence suggest a musical performance, as if the poet and the poem are about to leap off the stage and start a performance right in front of us. There is huge range in these poems - memories of youth and sex and excitement bump up against the terrors of the present moment - the drift and wreckage/ wreckage and grift of a world gone mad with poison and war. And then there is the quieter despair that comes with facing illness and loss, a life in which the speaker describes perfecting daily/the coffin pose. This is a brave book, that pulls no punches. Life and aging are just plain hard." - Ruth Danon, Creative & Expository Writing Coordinator, CMcGhee Division, New York University; Author of Turn Up the Heat"Mike Jurkovic's keen eye, sharp ear and compassionate heart beckon us once again--and reward us with uniquely satisfying images: from crimps in the human foil to tannins of peace. Gift yourself with this thoughtful and provocative book. - Irene O'Garden, poet, author, Risking the Rapids, Off-Broadway playwright, Women On Fire"Mike Jurkovic's keen eye, sharp ear and compassionate heart beckon us once again--and reward us with uniquely satisfying images: from crimps in the human foil to tannins of peace. Gift yourself with this thoughtful and provocative book. - Irene O'Garden, poet, author, Risking the Rapids, Off-Broadway playwright, Women On Fire
