Poet Jeffery Beam
Reviews

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From reviews of Little

Less is not always more, but LITTLE is definitely big!
—Painter James McGarrell (letter to author)

Jeffery again beams.
—Poet and publisher Cid Corman (letter to author)

Am I to read little's unbound pages within the stillness of an interior space or should I walk a few blocks from my apartment to Washington Square Park and release the fortune cookie on steroids-sized sheets into the wind because I want to share this sensitivity, wisdom, and Insight....This is about the preciousness of life and beauty in our relationships with the natural and man-made worlds around us....What I can tell you about is what is seen in this book. The bliss of being with a loved one or lover, the joy of nurturing or motherhood, trying to become invisible, the quest for knowledge from the observation of the natural world, unlearning all the dumb shit that impairs one's ability to see, con-cen-trating. What I'm reminded of after reading little is that no one has sent back a postcard from the other side and that knowing is not knowing and that gives me great peace of mind.

The photographer Garry Winogrand said that when he was photographing it was the closest he came to being invisible and that he found that attractive. I like to think that when Jeffery Beam speaks of being little that he's looking for beauty and wisdom by taking on a kind of monastic selflessness or having vision so clear that, like Winogrand, you feel that you've left your bones behind.
—Photographer Reuben Cox (unpublished review)

We just love your "little" book! The cats always read it with me—they come running when they hear the wrapper crinkle.
—Comic, playwright, and novelist Julia Willis (letter to author)

Email: jeffbeam@email.unc.edu
URL: http://www.unc.edu/~jeffbeam/reviews_little.html
Last updated: August 21, 2008