Barry Vitcov lives in Ashland, Oregon with his wife and exceptionally brilliant standard poodle. His poetry and short stories have appeared in a variety of publications, including: EAP: The Magazine, Literary Yard, The Scarlet Review, Fiction on the Web, Labyrinth, Mobius Blvd., Black Sheep, Dark Horses, Jefferson Review, and The Rapids: An Art & Literature Journal of Southern Oregon. He has had four books published by Finishing Line Press, a collection of poetry, Where I Live Some of the Time (2021); a collection of short stories, The Wilbur Stories & More (2022); a chapbook collection of poems Structures (2024); and a novella The Boy with Six Fingers (2025). In addition to this chapbook Boychik Poems, FLP will be published a collection of short stories Unknown & Other Stories in early 2026.
PRAISE:
Boychik (“young man” in Yiddish) is a poetic coming-of-age, skillfully picturing a Jewish boyhood as seen through the wise, attentive eyes of manhood. Vitcov captures perfectly what it is to be raised in both the mystery and everydayness of Jewish faith. He does so in plain-spoken language, with flashes of lyricism and surprising appearances of rhyme–variously pleasing and energizing. From the drunken uncle hosed down on the patio for a bit of sobriety to the sacred image of orange groves in Israel, this chapbook is weighted with unusual beauty.
–Dianne Oberhansly, author of A Brief History of Male Nudes in America
Barry Vitcov’s Boychik traverses the terrain of growing up Jewish, the legacy and history of God’s chosen people, beliefs, encounters and spirituality with depth and the trademark charm of his engaging poetic voice. When Barry Vitcov draws you, as he does with aplomb, into a specific place – spaces ranging from family holiday memories, the Holy Land, a taxi driven by an Arab, adolescence as a “Jewball” on a basketball court, or the “Zone of Interest” where manicured lawns adjoin human furnaces – you feel privileged in the presence of a guide who speaks with vivid specificity, depth of heart and profound understanding. Whether the scene calls for poignancy, pathos, or an endearing reminiscence shared with Yiddish humor – Vitcov’s voice is true. Each line, each detail rings with significance. You leave each poem different than how you came. Like emerging from a fine film or novel, Vitcov delivers in the moments it takes to read a poem. And you want to go back to savor each poem’s fullness. For me, to emerge from a poem rich with images – as of a potentially risky liaison (“Cornucopia”) or the ways we measure time (“Time Passes”) – and then to look back and discover I’ve just read a sonnet (!), is the sign of a poet’s mastery of the craft. Yiddish terms appear in some of the poems. They are so true to the conversation they need not be italicized. Nevertheless, Vitcov kindly provides a glossary. Boychik is a Yiddish “term of endearment for a young man; a boy.” Several poems are drawn from Vitcov’s coming of age. Even those which are not, show the sense of wonder and discovery of a boy – a boy who is an old soul. With Boychik, Vitcov is the kid who comes to your door and invites you to come out and explore. Drop what you are doing and take him up on it. You’ll be glad you did.
–Peter E. Yeager, author of Searching for Sanctuary: The Journey Home Poems 1975-2022
Through personal reflection and poetic storytelling, Vitcov’s Boychik Poems navigates the spaces between innocence and inherited history with warmth and wisdom. Rich with memory steeped in food, family, and tradition, this thoughtful collection invites you to know a Jewish boy coming of age in the long shadow of the Holocaust. No matter who you are or what your faith is, these poems will resonate and linger with you long after you read them.
–Jennifer Rood, author of Present and Speaking Everywhere: A Collection of Found Poetry/Art
Vitcov’s poems patiently ask us to examine our humanity, our personal and shared histories. Fruit trees, a taxi ride, the numbers on grandmother’s arm, family gatherings, family relationships; images and experiences echo through the poems, in conversation with each other. Dear reader, Vitcov offers you an orange—savor its sweetness and all that it holds.
–Marissa Bell Toffoli, poetry editor for Exterminating Angel Press, EAP: THE MAGAZINE
Barry Vitcov’s “Boychik Poems” is a beautiful evocation of the blessings and burdens of being one of “the chosen,” as his grandfather tells him, a Jewish faith of deep family bonds, but also a community of strong moral expectations haunted by an agonizing history. Covering a span from childhood into his golden years, he comes to terms with those sometimes conflicting strands in a visit to Israel in 2017, saying “I have two homelands/ the one I live in/ the one inside me.” His determination to give eloquent voice to both is at the heart of this book.
–Steve Dieffenbacher, author of The Sky Is a Bird of Sorrow and Universe of the Unsaid
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