Description

 

Andes

by John L. Miller

John Miller explores the inner travel of the mind and heart, particularly in the encounter of anticipating mourning. The poems as collected represent time, events and thoughts of realizing that the his mother was dying.

Early Praise

As if John Miller were literally looking for home through this sweet group of poems, he writes in the opening line of the title poem, Green slopes all the way up when that close to the equator, places him where he has not yet set foot. And more from the same poem, I remember its blood collected into a paint bucket, Then two. My grandfather talked to the farmer, as if his memory is of a cerebral-felt reality. The short brisk important group of Poems, Andes, is a search for home, a memory of people, places imagined yet truly felt as his place and family of origin. The visceral quality of the works might as well be trading bones. I would come to touch  their longing responses of a transplanted family. John Miller was the product of immigrants, My mother once, while I listened to her and street traffic…on our linoleum floor, our Brooklyn apartment…in Spanish sembrar, to sow. And that John has done as an American poet living in Portland, Oregon, he makes us feel as he does.

Along with the loving dedication to John Miller’s parents, and the final poem in this heart-wrenching collection, “What a performance is,” and last line, Know you are never accidental, is what all people want to feel, which makes the work something that nearly everyone can relate to. The work is universal in that it is visceral, not only the works of the intellect, but deeply felt. We are lucky to have John Miller share them on the page.

—Diane Corson, author of Along the Fault of Me

 

What do we do in the face of profound loss? How do we navigate a world where only the present remains certain? In Andes, John Miller confronts these questions with unflinching courage, unveiling “the inestimable power of sorrow” through every carefully wrought line. The future/ may be thunder. But it invites me to/ prepare—among words,/ lift. Miller’s poetry offers a rare combination of raw honesty and transcendent beauty, creating a space for quiet reflection and shared humanity. Andes invites readers to explore the maps no one has made yet, as they chart their own journey toward meaning and resilience.

—M. L. Lyons, author of Songs from the Multiverse

 

When poets write a collection of poems, often they involve matters of the heart. With John Miller’s Andes, he has spoken from his heart. Traversing familial relationships, especially with his mother, continuing affinity for South America, and the life he lives here in America, Miller is certainly aware of matters regarding his heart. Andes is written with imposing attention given to syntax and maxim. Well-thought-of writers of verse are noted for such. Cheers to John Miller for sharing matters of his heart in Andes.

—Emmett Wheatfall, author of First Among Beautiful Stars

About the Author

John Miller’s poetry received category placement in the Oregon Poetry Association’s Fall 2023 contest. His chapbook Olympic was published by The Poetry Box in 2022, with other poetry featured at the Elisabeth Jones Art Center’s Festival of Feelings, and at the 2021 Connecticut Poetry Festival.  His poems have also been published in the anthology Opening the Gate, River Heron Review, Third Wednesday: A Literary & Arts Journal, Tiny Seed Literary Journal, West Trade Review and others.

John is a founder of Portland Ars Poetica, a literary poetry collective whose activities include generative workshops, a book club and performance events.  Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, he’s lived in Portland, Oregon since 2012 and has a degree in English from Amherst College.