Mountain Mother Poems by Alice Teeter

It’s a pleasure to read another collection by Alice Teeter, which brings again the dreamlike clarity of her earlier books, When it Happens to You . . . and Elephant Girls. In 25 connected poems, Mountain Mother Poems tells the mythical/magical story of a remarkable mother who chases eagles by “flapping her apron,” surrounded by the beautifully realized landscape of a mountain, and leading us toward an understanding of “what you forgive / and whom.”

–Peter Meinke, Poet Laureate of Florida, author of Lucky Bones,
University of Pittsburgh Press

Alice Teeter‘s strong voice, that of a talented and accomplished poet, is evident throughout Mountain Mother Poems. Her short poems exhibit a power of economy, of understated emotion; the longer poems maintain high emotional levels throughout. Teeter’s deceptively simple poems shine: they function on both literal and metaphoric levels — with not the least pretension.

–Miriam Kotzin, PhD, author of Body’s Bride and Debris Field,
David Robert Books

Strange and haunting.

–Lewis Turco, author of The Book of Forms, UPNE and Familiar
Stranger, Star Cloud Press

In poems both mythic and marvelous, Alice Teeter traces a difficult journey between an adult child and a mountain mother. Her book captures the mystery of the mountainside as well as the rocky rift between generations. Each poem is a brilliant path “worn smooth,” seeking to “find another way” to express the universal dilemma of being a child of the earth. Many unexpected gifts await in this finely fretted book.

–Amy Pence, author of Armor, Amour, Ninebark Press