The Sound of Water by Jim Garrett

In The Sound of Water Jim Garrett returns to his summers as a boy on the beaches of the Jersey shore. You can taste the salt water in these poems and hear the waves and seagulls and the ancient laughter of his family on the beach. In the sea spume and driftwood and tangles of seaweed, you can trace Garrett’s poetic imagination.

–George Bilgere is the author of seven books of poetry, including Imperial (2014) and Blood Pages (2018). His poems have appeared in numerous anthologies and journals including Poetry, Ploughshares, Kenyon Review, Fulcrum,and the Best American Poetry

Immersing yourself in Jim Garrett’s poems about growing up on the Jersey shore, and about a father and son growing older, is like plunging beneath the surface into an underwater world of loss, wonder and longing. Long after you’ve come up for air, these richly-imagined poems stay with you.

–Lee Chilcote is a journalist, essayist and poet and co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit Literary Cleveland. In 2017, his poetry chapbook The Shape of Home waspublished by Finishing Line Press.