{"product_id":"body-into-earth-john-cantey-knight-9781440175633","title":"Body into Earth: Poems by the Signs","description":"\u003ci\u003eBody into Earth\u003c\/i\u003e is a testament to a time and place, an era that spanned the removal of the Cherokee from the North Georgia Mountains to the beginnings of our modern time of science, technology and skepticism. The poems describe an older world where mankind is in harmony with nature, and the phases of the moon and the alignment of the constellations offer a guiding light along the pathways of rural life of a half century ago.\u003cp\u003e Easter Ramps\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e ... a wild onion, Allium tricocum, of eastern North America ... eaten raw or used as a flavoring in cooked foods.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e ―Webster's Dictionary\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Half breed Indian and mountain man\u003cbr\u003e lead the way down the Bald.\u003cbr\u003e Quickly, they scramble over rock\u003cbr\u003e and winter debris. Quietly, \u003cbr\u003e I follow.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Near a mile high, \u003cbr\u003e below rock cliffs and ivy thicket, \u003cbr\u003e steep mountains slope to coves\u003cbr\u003e and patches of green\u003cbr\u003e in springtide.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e On the mountainside we sit, \u003cbr\u003e break cornbread and boiled egg, \u003cbr\u003e and eat ramps. We talk\u003cbr\u003e about signs as buck gnats swarm\u003cbr\u003e and bite.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e I can taste ramp smell\u003cbr\u003e upon teeth and tongue. God\u003cbr\u003e knows, it takes something strong\u003cbr\u003e to course through the blood\u003cbr\u003e and purify.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The morrow is Easter, resurrection\u003cbr\u003e day. In visions of Christ's coming, \u003cbr\u003e the mountains seem sanctuary: \u003cbr\u003e hands outstretched hold\u003cbr\u003e Holy fire.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Blurb for \u003ci\u003eBody into Earth\u003c\/i\u003e by John Cantey Knight\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Though sectioned by the zodiac's elemental signs, it is the earth's fullness and plowed beginnings that hold John Cantey Knight rapt in this debut collection. Poems wry, precise, and alert explore communities of self and nature, their uneasy covenant and mysteries. \"Preoccupied by light, surrounded by the night,\" he tromps along valley and vista, reminding us that, even amid the creek-fed garden, serpents abound. We are haloed by southern Appalachia's lexicon of mountain habitation and inhabitant, the winter cresses \"not like nary another green ... the year's first purifying tonic.\" Whether our lives are purified by blessing or fallen angels, Knight's vision is expansive enough to gather the tart goodness of both, equally the hunter as the hunted, each finding solace and renewal in his words' flaming thicket. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e -Linda Parsons Marion\u003cbr\u003e Now \u0026amp; Then Magazine and author of two collections of poems: Home Fires and Mother Land.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e John Cantey Knight\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1440175632\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781440175633\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e iUniverse\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/17\/2009\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 136\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.40lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.32d\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"John Cantey Knight","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48458313629951,"sku":"9781440175633","price":11.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_c5508eee-b8fd-4429-a685-b2c84af0a3da.jpg?v=1777403665","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/body-into-earth-john-cantey-knight-9781440175633","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}