Wyoming Arts Council

Burt Bradley writes review of Craig Arnold’s "Made Flesh"

Uncategorized | August 12, 2009

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Burt Bradley, poet and English prof at Northwest College in Powell, wrote a review of Craig Arnold’s final book for Sunday’s Billings Gazette. Here’s the opening section:

One can’t help reading Craig Arnold’s second book of poetry, “Made Flesh,” without thinking that this is his last book of poetry.

On April 26, Arnold disappeared while hiking to a volcano on a remote Japanese island. Despite government and professional searches, he was never found and is now presumed deceased.

“Made Flesh” is comprised solely of poems about past and present relationships, and it is a terrible irony that this award winning poet, whom former U.S. poet laureate Robert Pinsky described as “one of the most gifted and accomplished poets of his generation,” would have his life end alone far from loved ones.

The relationships in “Made Flesh” are portrayed through a remarkable mix of contemporary rhetoric and mythic imagery, which express, in Pinsky’s words, “a tremendous emotional underworld, distinctive and memorable.”

For entire review, go to http://www.billingsgazette.com/news/features/magazine/article_82affae6-8478-11de-915a-001cc4c002e0.html

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