Foreword by Ed McClanahan

What Comes Down To Us features twenty-five of Kentucky's most accomplished contemporary poets. Together they serve to illustrate the diversity and richness of poetry being written today in the Commonwealth. The poems were collected by Jeff Worley, a poet who has lived in Kentucky for more than two decades. Although the subject matter of the poems transcends the state's borders, the collection communicates a strong sense of Kentucky as a place.

Worley's introduction places contemporary Kentucky poetry in the context of the state's rich literary tradition, and the poet biographies include their reflections and, often, their poetic approach and technique.

Jeff Worley is the author of three collections of poetry including The Only Time There Is, which won the Mid-List Press first-book competition in 1995, A Simple Human Motion, and Happy Hour at the Two Keys Tavern, which was named 2006 Kentucky Book of the Year in poetry. His poems have been published widely, and he won the Atlanta Review 2002 grand prize for the poem, "His Funeral." Worley has served as editor of Odyssey magazine since 1997.

Contributors

Wendell Berry, Don Boes, Tony Crunk, Kathleen Driskell, Lynnell Edwards, Nikki Finney, Max Garland, Sarah Gorham, Jonathan Greene, James Baker Hall, Marcia Hurlow, Leatha Kendrick, George Ella Lyon, Maurice Manning, Davis McCombs, Vivian Shipley, Aleda Shirley, Jeffrey Skinner, Fred Smock, Philip St. Clair, Joe Survant, Richard Taylor, Jane Gentry Vance, Frank X Walker, Jeff Worley

Reviews:

Click here to listen to an audio review from WVXU's Around Cincinnati with Roberta Schultz

"A savory sampling of the very good poetry currently being written in Kentucky."-Paul Zimmer, author of Crossing to Sunlight Revisited

"What Comes Down to Us affirms Kentuckys place in the literary landscape while shining a light on the poetic process itself."-Braver Self

"What Comes Down to Us is a cornucopia of native voices that celebrates the variety and scope of Kentucky arts and letters through the medium of poetry."-Bowling Green Daily News

"The anthology is beautifully done... A delightful taste of Kentucky's best."-New Southerner

"The vibrant voices in What Comes Down to Us are - like each poet's diction - bold, inventive, evocative and spot-on."-Courier-Journal