Lost in the Fog by Lyn Lifshin

$14.00

 

From the author of THE LICORICE DAUGHTER: MY YEAR WITH RUFFIAN and the forthcoming BARBARO: BEYOND BROKENNESS, LOST IN THE FOG, to be published by Finishing Line Press. These poems about the blue collar $13,000 weanling and $18,000 yearling that got his name the day his owner literally lost him in the fog, will take you back to the fall of 2006 when The Fog and Barbaro were held in so many hearts. The dark mahogany horse with that striking splash of white won ten straight races and he was favored at every start. But how amazing a warrior he was was still unfolding. As one of the fastest horses in the world, he had beat track records at races all over the country. He was in wild demand as a stallion. In the summer of 2006, the fairy tale turned upside down and The Fog spent his last days pampered and surrounded by everything those who adored him could do to make him comfortable and happy.

 

Lyn Lifshin has become the de facto poet laureate of thoroughbred racing with this her third book exploring the life of a great racehorse. All three horses — the vaunted Ruffian, the intrepid Barbaro of recent celebrity, and the effervescent Lost In The Fog — share in common a tragic destiny that lends a touch of the classically heroic to these works as a whole.

 

The audacity of Lost In The Fog as an individual was much more than merely bearable, it was desirable, endearing, as is this tribute to his brief and eccentric career by one of America’s premiere poets. Lifshin’s empathy for the horse manifests itself in her various points of focus upon sentient, emotional aspects of a story the end of which we pretend to have forgotten as we read on. These poems are as close to being testaments straight from the horse’s mouth — and heart — as we can ever hope to see.

–Joe La Rosa

 

 

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Lost in the Fog

by Lyn Lifshin

$14, paper

Lyn Lifshin of Niskayuna, NY passed away on December 9, 2019 at the home of her friend Albert Jordan in Vienna, VA following illness and a fall. Lyn was a poet who had written over 130 books and chapbooks and edited four anthologies of women writers. Her poems have appeared in most poetry and literary magazines. She has given more than 700 readings across the USA and has appeared at Dartmouth and Skidmore colleges, Cornell University, the Shakespeare Library, Whitney Museum and Huntington Library. Lyn also taught poetry at the University of Rochester, Antioch, and Colorado Mountain College. Winner of numerous awards including the Jack Kerouac Award, she is the subject of the documentary film “Lyn Lifshin: Not Made of Glass.” For her dedication to the small presses which first published her, and for managing to survive on her own apart from any academic institution, she has earned the distinction “Queen of the Small Presses.” Perhaps it was Robert Frost who helped launch her lifetime of poetry when in her childhood he complemented her poetry. She has also been praised by Ken Kesey and Richard Eberhart, and Ed Sanders has seen her as “a modern Emily Dickinson.” She recently was named a Literary Legend by the Albany NY Public Library Foundation. She also developed a passion for dancing-ballet, ballroom and Argentine tango.

Statement from the cover artist, Patti DeLong:

I have been drawing horses for as long as I can remember, which led to a career in art. I went to college for art, but I’ve perfected my ability over the years and lots of practice. I’m currently working on 2 racehorse series, a classic and fantasy. Books about Exterminator (Old Bones) and Man O’War introduced me to the race horse. Certain disabilities have curtailed me, but I am still able to paint these beautiful horses. The opportunity to have my work displayed on Lyn’s book is an honor, and also a great memorial to another great horse, Lost In The Fog. Patti (Pat) DeLong

 

 

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