Garrett J. Brown
Garrett J. Brown’s first book of poems, Manna Sifting, won the Liam Rector First Book Prize from Briery Creek Press in 2009. His other awards include the Paul Carroll Award in Creative Writing in 2011, first place in the Poetry Center of Chicago’s 2005 Juried Reading, judged by Jorie Graham, runner-up in the 2003 Maryland Emerging Voices competition, and a Creative Writing Fellowship from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His poetry and creative nonfiction has appeared in the Black Warrior Review, Poetry East, TriQuarterly, Natural Bridge, the American Poetry Journal, and the Ledge. He teaches English & Creative Writing at Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland.
Poetry by Garrett J. Brown
After years of secret glances,
I knew it well – a cage of slanted
wires arranged on a Doric column
in my grandparents’ living room.
Spring cleaning in Baltimore always involved
a yellow bucket sloshing with soapy water
and a rag recognized as the tattered remains
of my father’s bowling shirt, circa 1973.
Receding hairline, your rented room
in the wooded hills beyond light
pollution and suburbia, your penchant
for slender women with large eyes
and small breasts, talent for language