June-Tree: New and Selected Poems (1974-2000)

By Peter Balakian Peter Balakian's poetry has been praised widely in the United States and abroad. June-tree: New and Selected Poems 1974-2000 is a discriminating selection from his first four books, with a group of startling new poems. In book after book, Balakian has created a unique voice in American poetry -- one that is both personal and cosmopolitan. In sensuous, elliptical language, Balakian offers a textured poetry that is beautiful and haunting as it envelops an American grain, the reverberations of the Armenian Genocide, and the wired, discordant realities of contemporary life. In his explorations of history, Balakian often deals with the transmission of trauma across generations in ways that bring daily American life into play with the dark frequencies of the past. The evolution of Balakian's form from volume to volume encompasses an expansive imagination, one always able to engage reality in its starkness, difficulty, and moments of revelation. June-tree is a stunning body of work by an original poet.  Harper Collins Publishers (2001)