heads held low, by Corey D. Cook

Poetry, chapbook, 32 pages, from Bottlecap Features. The 24 haiku and senryu in Corey D. Cook’s latest chapbook, heads held low, will usher you through the changing seasons. Interwoven throughout this small collection are also poems about the declining health and loss of the author’s elderly family members and friends. These three-lined poems are concise, impactful, and imbued with feeling. Perhaps one of Corey’s favorite poets, Donald Hall, is to thank for this as Hall was often quoted as saying that he viewed poetry as a “school for feeling.” It is the author’s sincere hope that the poems gathered here will serve as catalysts for quiet contemplation, reflection, and mourning for all that’s been lost. That you too will be moved to hold your head low over these pages. Corey D. Cook is the author of seven previous poetry collections. His most recent, Passing Cars, was published by Maverick Duck Press in 2023. The other two most recent, Junk Drawer and The Weight of Shadows, were both published by Finishing Line Press. Corey has had over 300 poems published in print and online magazines since 2004. His longer (free verse) poems have appeared in Bloodroot Literary Magazine, Boston Literary Magazine, Chiron Review, Freshwater Literary Journal, Muddy River Poetry Review, Naugatuck River Review, Nixes Mate Review, Northern New England Review, ONE ART, South Florida Poetry Journal, and Star 82 Review. Corey works at a hospital in New Hampshire and lives in East Thetford, Vermont.