In Killdeer's Field
In Killdeer's Field, Cope’s long-awaited first full-length volume of poetry. Says Mary-Ann Taylor Hall, “In Killdeer's Field coheres around grief—austere and passionate—for the wounded natural world.” This is moving, serious stuff, highly intellectual, though straight from the heart of this man forever linked in spirit, soul, and body to the Appalachian mountains. If you are close to the earth, you will recognize this kindred spirit.
Reviews for In Killdeer's Field:
Review from Appalachian Heritage
Mary Ann Taylor-Hall
From Appalachian Heritage, Winter 2003
"Most of the poems in this collection, certainly those in the first section, seem enactments of this state of spirit, where language has no abstractions, where utterance is prized out of deepest, most knowing silence. The distilled feeling of this book could only have been achieved through vigil--long, dedicated, and arduous. The work coheres around grief--austere and passionate--for the wounded natural world, the world that is no longer "the only thought."..." Read More
Searching for the Truth: In Killdeer's Field
Renea C. Frey
From The Journal of Kentucky Studies, Fall 2002
"Life, death, and universal truth have been found in, of all places, the hills of eastern Kentucky. Steven R. Cope explores these subjects in his premier collection of poetry entitled In Killdeer's Field (Wind Publications, 2002).
Unlike many ponderences of these age-old questions of humanity, Mr. Cope seems to come up with some answers within the text of his poems. There is a primitive wildness in the psyche of his narrative, the voice of a pre-consciousness which existed before language developed and separated man from the totality of nature. In this primal state, there is a rightness or naturalness which language alone cannot describe. This state gets lost both in the individual and mankind as a whole, but if we follow the entire cycle, it can once again be regained...." Read More
© 2002, 99 pages, softcover; This book is available from Amazon or directly from the publisher. To inquire about ordering a copy signed by the author, please e-mail info@stevenrcope.com