Ken Haas
Books
Borrowed Light
Red Mountain Press (June, 2020)
ISBN: 978-1-73265-019-0
Paperback, 74 pages
$21.95
From the Publisher
In his debut poetry collection, Borrowed Light, Ken Haas vividly yet unassumingly traces the evolution of a first-generation American’s heart. His remarkable gift for storytelling navigates with intimacy, humor, surprise and moral compass. He takes us from the schoolyard to the old country, the Village to the Sierras, Kafka’s bank line to the ballpark, eclipses to cab rides, kayaking to chemo. These are poems that want to be read, read aloud and read again. Here is the distinctive voice of the Bronx and the West, war and migration, landscape and family, celebrating as it holds a bright mirror up to dark causes, calls itself and the world to account.
Praise
"Borrowed Light, Ken Haas' first collection of poems, is complex, vibrant, capacious and wildly imaginative. With affection and wonderful clarity, Haas describes a childhood of 'taking infield practice and shagging flies,' Atlantic City's 'sunburn and saltwater taffy,' a trip into Manhattan to see the legendary John Coltrane, who 'emptied his arms in a wave that even now speaks to the kind of man I could become.' But it would be a mistake to call this book nostalgic. Haas is keenly aware of the darker forces of history. The same Antisemitism that forced his grandparents to flee Nazi Germany is alive and well today—'we just forgot that shirt-wise brown is brown, words do burn, and we can see the rest from here.' Yet what emerges overall is a celebration of the immigrant. Peopled with men and women from El Salvador, China, Mexico, Philippines, Borrowed Light is an invitation to empathy, an embrace of the stranger, a sanctuary."
Ellen Bass
Author of Indigo
"From a Bronx childhood and adolescence these poems chart a wide-ranging narrative, lit by well-drawn images, through the second part of the 20th Century into our present fractured moment: family portraits and songs of romance, ironic meditations on age and ethnicity, homilies on loneliness and companionship. This is a compassionate voice, full of an appreciation for life and laced with an undercurrent of humor, unmistakably American."
Joseph Millar
Author of Kingdom
“These are thoughtful, fluent poems, packed with vivid images of an American life. The portraits of family members were particularly enjoyable, such as the grandmother ‘who wanted to talk / when the Yankees were on’, and we particularly warmed to the confessional poems, like ‘Trane’, a piece about chasing the kudos of black culture: ‘None of us in 1966 wanted to be a white kid /from the Bronx. So I rode the subway down / to hear the man who might make me cool’. There’s a delightful candour in his autobiographical poems, whether he’s reminiscing about music, baseball, or his night in a German brothel (where a woman with ‘stepmother eyes and woodcutter hands’ empties his wallet). Haas writes with verve and humour, and it’s a treat to be in his company”.
2021 Rubery Prize
Shortlist Comments
Reviews
“In Borrowed Light, Ken Haas’s poems are ordered with a sensibility I wish more poets would employ…. [These] poems know where they came from and show appreciation for their prosodic sources—the light borrowed from both the canon and from Haas’s own mentors…. Haas demonstrates his ability to tell a story well, to engage his readers emotionally, while avoiding sentimentality….When he speaks of things that matter most—the arts, love, death—he does not fall into abstraction, but rather shows us…. There are delightful instances of poems that lend their light to others and then reflect that light, calling and answering across the pages of this collection…. Borrowed Light is essential reading.”
Terry Lucas, The Widening Spell
“The poems in Borrowed Light represent a diverse set of evocative observations in free verse….. Each work both stands nicely alone and contributes a jigsaw puzzle piece to the greater tapestry of not just the poet's life, but those of first-generation Americans…. Haas does a remarkable job of delineating the forces that change perspectives and hearts as life goes on…. As family portraits, ethnic influences, and social forces coalesce, readers will appreciate the vibrant tone of stories that dovetail with one another for maximum impact…. Poetry enthusiasts seeking an award-winning collection filled with reflective force will relish the cultural, historic, and personal roots explored in the visionary pieces in Borrowed Light."
Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review
“Through poetry, this textured memoir reflects on life, world events, and a[n]. . . American trajectory from war to conventional comforts and challenges. Written with the rich benefit of hindsight and longevity, these poems blend deft wordplay and stylish storytelling to reveal the bonus of age and perspective. . . . There is rich and varied commentary here. The poet playfully exposes the wisdom and innate strength of pre-feminist American women. . . . He plays baseball, considers nature, laments divorce and aging, and remembers childhood, family, and past loves across his journey from the Bronx to the San Francisco Bay Area. Earthy, bawdy, even lusty entries contrast with loftier considerations, which, when taken together, create the balanced sketch of an authentic, thinking man . . . , a real, multi-dimensional character whose eyes have seen and considered much. . . . [T]hese poems offer ample space for reflection and insight. . . . [T]he words slice and dice into the reader with punchlines that punch hard, delivering humor and surprise in some cases, with deeper and more biting dismounts in others. . . .”
Jordana Landsman, US Review of Books