Old News by James Broschart

In poetry, all the news is old news, but James Broschart’s Old News not only makes it new, it’s anything but fake. These lively, perceptive poems take on the subjects that matter: childhood and age, love and illness, family and other animals. With wry honesty, they consider backyards, grocery stores, and what it is to live an examined life. Sometime stoic, sometimes wonderfully heart-wrenching, sometimes seizing on moments of real joy, these satisfying poems are mostly written in spare and strong free verse—but Broschart knows how to use meter and rhyme to good effect. Look sharp and you’ll spot a sonnet or three, haiku, a cinquain, more. Mainly, read them.

You too will be very glad you did.

–Jeanne Larsen, author of Why We Make Gardens (& Other Poems) and What Penelope Chooses.

James Broschart is handing us some Old News (a pun on the words to be sure, in keeping with his oft’ times teasing and subtle humorous metaphors of cycles and aging of ourselves, our houses, animals, vehicles, nature, and social ways of being; but don’t let the quiet, honest voice throughout fool you. This man knows his craft—whether it is his unique and charged use of verbs, imagery that is exact, original and full of surprise, description that convincingly illustrates attitude and character, on-target comparisons, equally skillful use of rhyme and pattern, free verse and haiku, moving narrative, dynamite closures that seal the matter with startling agreeability, onomatopoeia, personification that actually works just fine, and fun! Mixed in with remembrance of this past generation, and focus on the everyday basics that compose the real news of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, Old News is a fine ride back in time for Seniors and a great perspective into parents and grandparents for Youth. This first volume of poetry by a conscientious writer who knows how to convince the reader that his perspective is worth considering is often compelling and sometimes splendid. I rather had the feeling that James and I were sitting on a park bench in the fall where he told me that he is just building on what he learned from his father, whose “techniques were his own invention.”, where he “learned the heart of his (father’s) philosophy: that nothing acquired is ever easily let go,”. However, whether the subject is a wedding reception or gender gaps, James never takes himself or life too seriously, as tongue-in-cheek, he tells me, “In the Land of Old Men, we pee in small jars, wait patiently..” and that absolutely hits the nail on the head of a matter that is, in fact, a poignant example of a frequent task of the elderly life cycle. He hits the mark many times throughout. Honestly. Well said, James.

–Judy Light Ayyildiz, educator/author of Intervals, Applachia to Istanbul, Appalachian Poetry Series #3 (Mountain Empire, 2015)  Mud River, 3^rd edition (iUniverse, 2009)  and Forty Thorns (Remzi Kitabevi, 2011)