In the Laurels, Caught

In the Laurels, Caught is a collection of lighthearted, deep-rooted poems written around the Appalachian region of North Carolina in Madison County. An adventurous, intellectually restless native, Lee Ann Brown writes out of attachment but with the slant of a transplanted outsider. She investigates elements of local language, musicality, material culture, and landscape, using collage, found poetry, and oral history and anecdote.

A Daylily’s blossom only lasts one day

Binnorie O Binorie O

My grandmother showed me how to have my say

O the glory O the glory

Now every time I see a faded drooping bud

I deadhead it like she did so the rest can live on

The story O the story

Lee Ann Brown is professor of English at St. John’s University. Her book Polyverse won the New American Poetry Series Award. The Sleep That Changed Everything appeared in 2003. She is founding editor of the small press Tender Buttons.