Old Rags and Iron: New and Selected Poems

Old Rags and Iron is a collection of narrative poems about the life experiences of working-class people with whom the author, R. F. McEwen, is not only acquainted but whose lives he has shared. McEwen supplemented his income as a teacher while working as a professional logger and tree trimmer, and he writes with great love and respect for blue-collar families.

Set primarily in the back-of-the-yard neighborhood of South Side Chicago, where McEwen grew up, as well as Pine Ridge, South Dakota, western Nebraska, Ireland, and elsewhere, the poems celebrate many voices and stories. Utilizing tree-trimming as a central metaphor, these poems of blank verse fictions reverberate like truth.

Author: R. F. McEwen
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Published: 03/01/2025
Series: Ted Kooser Contemporary Poetry
Pages: 144
Weight: 0.49lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.34d
ISBN: 9781496241894