Another Shore

In this poetic narrative, James Dott proves himself a wondrous myth-maker within the incomparable economy of seventeen scenes. Another Shore keeps its secrets and its tensions by withholding explanation. As a spellbound reader, I have followed the basket-weavers' guidance: "Over north and under east/over south and under west/repeat" (from Basketry).Karin Temple, author of Child of War, So Great a Cloud of Witnesses, and Chalice of TearsJames Dott's poems offer both visionary and humane insights. They draw us into a world where the natural world is matched with the inner landscape of self-awareness. His poems are filled with intelligent and artistic values. They will lead you into introspection. David Bogue, editor, Turtle Island QuarterlyIn this masterful narrative poem cycle, James Dott devotes his large gift to reimagining the bleak and grueling settlement of Plymouth Harbor more than four centuries ago, and one orphaned woman's unwanted escape from it. Her remarkable story of hard loss and discovered love carries from gentle Devon to the mountains of Massachusetts, in sharp images and lyrics as lovely as "through the shifting slur of leaves, /a thrush's song" and "a sound/smaller than shrew speech". If the story is essentially human, one of immigrant and indigene, it is told just as much through the sensibilities, voices, and actions of the ocean, raven, loon, and fire. The American colonial experience will never be quite the same for me after reading Another Shore.Robert Michael Pyle, author of Evolution of the Genus Iris and Chinook & Chanterelle