Possible Lives

by Frederick Asnes

In this posthumously published collection of poetry, Possible Lives by Frederick Asnes, the reader is taken into the poet’s later years of his life, where he explores what it means to be older and how eloquently he viewed the world around him, with clever musings leading the way on his thoughtful, poetic journey.

Sample Poem:

IMAGINATION

“I would spread like the weather
and take in the world,” it says.
“Only reason keeps me in check.”
But it knows better. It flies
a little and then returns
to the safety of its familiar coop,
having learned long ago it is not
an eagle. Circles within circles
are its world. And now it pecks
and struts, entirely self-absorbed.
Yet it has peopled poems
and, while its heart fluttered,
had visions of its final flight.

About the Author

Frederick Asnes grew up in Framingham, Massachusetts; he studied writing with Robert Lowell and John Malcolm Brinnin at Boston University. In 1964, he moved to Austin, Texas where he studied with Thomas Whitbread at The University of Texas where he earned his PhD. He taught creative writing at the university for many years. He also later taught at Rice University. In the Fall of 1974, Fred was first published in Lucille Poetry Journal #4. His first book These Little Worlds was published in 1985 by Slough Press.  It was selected as co-winner in the Austin Book Awards in poetry. Fred died in 1992 while living in Houston, Texas with his wife Elizabeth. This posthumous book contains poems from various periods of his life but focuses mainly on his later years.

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