Worship the Pig

Gaylord Brewer is the author of fifteen previous books of poetry, fiction, criticism, and cookery, including Country of Ghost (Red Hen, 2015) and The Poet’s Guide to Food, Drink, & Desire (Stephen F. Austin, 2015). His poems have appeared in Best American Poetry and The Bedford Introduction to Literature. His many international residencies include Hawthornden Castle (Scotland) and the Global Arts Village (India), and he has taught in Russia, Kenya, England, and the Czech Republic. Brewer was awarded a Tennessee Arts Commission Fellowship in 2009. He is a native of Louisville, Kentucky, and has been a professor at Middle Tennessee State University since 1993.

"Gaylord Brewer is the most natural poet in the country." —Asheville Poetry Review"Brewer’s a wonderful writer. I love his language. His eye. His attitude. His love for the world. And his poems do what they are meant to—they tell us to pause, to wake up, to see, to not squander the immensity and beauty and pain of our lives. We have to see it all, feel it all, he’s telling us, exhorting us, this heartbroken guide, this wise, sad, and funny poet." —Jonathan Ames "Worship the Pig—there, in one breath, the sacred and the profane. Just know that in Gaylord Brewer’s world, the profane is also venerable, what is simple is likewise profound, and what is commonplace is remarkable. Brewer is an enchanter, who casts his spell with words that are clear, precise, and illuminating, words that carry us away to a more vitalizing world than the one we live in, to a world of simple pleasures and bountiful blessings. One may read this book as a litany of reasons for living an intentional life, even in the face of bracing sadness. Brewer knows that the first act of writing is noticing, and that paying attention is giving praise. I suggest you buy this book, pour yourself a drink, settle into your easy chair, and dive in. You won’t come up for air until you’re done. That’s how I read it. Twice. And I’m still seeing the world through its invigorating lens." —John Dufresne"The speaker is conversational, wandering, and full of a pleased and grateful awe that invites the imagination to watch its playful work." —Southern Review of Books"The poet’s craft extends throughout the book, in every poem, from the confessions of a self-remonstrating animal lover to the comedic delight of life in a foreign country, to the sweet and sorrowful admonishments of humanity as it revels in the sheer joy of paradox 'in this big-ass world,' 'full of romp and circumstance.' This book of odes, 'Done Right,' spans continents and topics in its journey to a holy kind of happiness, though certain readers may at times be advised to apply a grain of salt. For anyone invested in the succulent nature of poetry, this is praiseworthy work."  —Sugar House Reviews