Ballard

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=120 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0ec8dfe1esnpes.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>FootHills Publishing 2008</B></FONT><B>     </B><B>|</B><B>     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="FootHills Publishing 2008"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id41.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Books 2008"><U>Books 2008</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id47.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Krok"><U>Krok</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Thomas"><U>Thomas</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id43.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lunt"><U>Lunt</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id44.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Waber"><U>Waber</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id45.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mesler"><U>Mesler</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id46.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Arnold"><U>Arnold</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id48.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Landsman"><U>Landsman</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id49.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Holley"><U>Holley</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id50.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Burchell"><U>Burchell</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Parlato"><U>Parlato</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id53.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Whittle"><U>Whittle</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id54.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hays"><U>Hays</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id55.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Roche"><U>Roche</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jones"><U>Jones</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id57.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Barone"><U>Barone</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id58.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="McKee"><U>McKee</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id59.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Czarnecki"><U>Czarnecki</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id60.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Seaton"><U>Seaton</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id61.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lyons"><U>Lyons</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id62.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nixon"><U>Nixon</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id63.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Holmes"><U>Holmes</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id64.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="McDonnell"><U>McDonnell</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id65.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Evans"><U>Evans</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id66.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Michalak"><U>Michalak</U></A>   |   <B>Ballard</B>   |   <A HREF="id68.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bauer"><U>Bauer</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id69.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ikins"><U>Ikins</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id70.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jefferis"><U>Jefferis</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id71.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Campbell"><U>Campbell</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id72.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Laura Glenn"><U>Laura Glenn</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id73.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Roberta Gould"><U>Roberta Gould</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id74.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Carmine Dandrea"><U>Carmine Dandrea</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id75.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Rhonda Morton"><U>Rhonda Morton</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id76.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Suzanne Shane"><U>Suzanne Shane</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id77.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kathleen Jo Zimmerman"><U>Kathleen Jo Zimmerman</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id78.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vicie Rolling"><U>Vicie Rolling</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id79.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sueann Wells"><U>Sueann Wells</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id42.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ordering By Mail"><U>Ordering By Mail</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact FHP"><U>Contact FHP</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=360 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0ec8dfc3.jpg"> <div> <I>Ballard</I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> Jon Ballard</div> <div> TREES MAKE YOU THINK </div> <div> OF OTHER THINGS</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="1da2cd40.jpg" border=0 width="300" height="468" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> The poems in <I>Trees Make You Think of Other Things</I> contain a strain or undercurrent of melancholy, apprehension, and dissatisfaction in keeping with the style of work I've developed in the last few years--much of that work appearing in two recent chapbooks.  What makes this collection a bit different is the fact that it not only culls from my recent writings, it also brings into the mix some pieces written as much as twenty years ago. As a result, this chapbook reflects in part an evolution in my work: the alteration over time, for good or bad, in the poetics of mood, memory, line, and subject matter.  What this might mean to potential (much-appreciated) readers isn't clear, but for me it defines a certain mutability, a way of seeing the world, that's inseparable from the fact of growing older.  While most of the pieces here are representative of the poet I am at this very moment in time, a few others are snapshots of a poet I haven't known for years and might not even recognize--or apologize to--if I bumped into him on the street.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>From the book:</B></div> <bR> <div> TREES MAKE YOU THINK OF OTHER THINGS</div> <bR> <div>           </div> <div> You never think of flowers </div> <div> In relation to anything else, nor</div> <bR> <div> Even trees, though trees at least</div> <div> Seem to scaffold the sky at times,</div> <bR> <div> (As if the particular vista you're</div> <div> Thinking of was a work in progress.)</div> <bR> <div> And once, on a walk in the woods</div> <div> With your father, you came upon</div> <div>      </div> <div> A rotted red oak-the old man's guess-</div> <div> Strewn over the two-track like a toppled</div> <bR> <div> Ghost. “Gypsy moths,” he whispered, </div> <div> Fingering the grey bark with a reverence</div> <bR> <div> The living would never expect of him.  </div> <div> So: it seems that trees do make you </div> <bR> <div> Think of other things, and there are so</div> <div> Many of them-trees <I>and</I> other things-</div> <bR> <div> That you begin to feel oppressed by  </div> <div> The incalculable intimations, the math</div> <div>      </div> <div> Of associations, the cold roots, the leaves.  </div> <bR> <bR> <div> Jon Ballard's poetry has appeared in over forty publications, including, <I>The Valparaiso Poetry Review, Barnwood Magazine, Stone Table Review, Blue Earth Review, The MacGuffin, Boxcar Poetry Review,</I> and<I> Soundings East.</I>  He is the author of two previous poetry chapbooks, <I>Lonesome </I>(Pudding House) and <I>Sad Town </I>(Maverick Duck Press), both published in 2007.  Jon received a BA and an MA in English from Oakland University in Rochester, MI.  He is also an occasional instructor of writing and literature at Oakland Community College in Royal Oak, Michigan.  A Michigan native, he currently lives in Mexico City, Mexico with his wife Betsy, and his two daughters, Madeleine and Natalie.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> TREES MAKE YOU THINK OF OTHER THINGS</div> <div> is a 28 page hand-stitched chapbook.</div> <div> $8.00</div> <bR> <div> TO ORDER  ON-LINE            <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Palatino Linotype" ><A HREF="id42.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ordering By Mail"><U>To order through mail click here.</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> From the US or Canada       <B> <form target="paypal" action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post"> <input type="image" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/sc-but-01.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="Make payments with PayPal - it's fast, free and secure!"> <input type="hidden" name="add" value="1"> <input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_cart"> <input type="hidden" name="business" value="fhp@foothillspublishing.com"> <input type="hidden" name="item_name" value="Trees Make You Think of Other Things"> <input type="hidden" name="item_number" value="08-24"> <input type="hidden" name="amount" value="8.00"> <input type="hidden" name="no_note" value="1"> <input type="hidden" name="currency_code" value="USD"> </form>  </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> From Other Countries           <B> <form target="paypal" action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post"> <input type="image" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/sc-but-01.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="Make payments with PayPal - it's fast, free and secure!"> <input type="hidden" name="add" value="1"> <input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_cart"> <input type="hidden" name="business" value="fhp@foothillspublishing.com"> <input type="hidden" name="item_name" value="Trees Make You Think of Other Things"> <input type="hidden" name="item_number" value="08-24"> <input type="hidden" name="amount" value="8.00"> <input type="hidden" name="no_note" value="1"> <input type="hidden" name="shipping" value="5.00"> <input type="hidden" name="currency_code" value="USD"> </form>  </B></div> <bR> <div>  <form target="paypal" action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post"> <input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_cart"> <input type="hidden" name="business" value="fhp@foothillspublishing.com"> <input type="image" src="https://www.paypal.com/images/view_cart.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="Make payments with PayPal - it's fast, free and secure!"> <input type="hidden" name="display" value="1"> </form>  </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>