<DIV><p><br>“David Roderick's poems are exquisitely made with language that is rich and precise. . . . He convinces us that we are all pilgrims committing our acts of courage as well as our little crimes. This book is immensely rewarding.”—James Tate</p><p><br>In <I>Blue Colonial,</I> David Roderick memorializes his hometown by excavating and re-imagining its individual and collective histories. Set in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where English colonists first settled in 1620, <I>Blue Colonial</I> uses dramatic and narrative effects to explore the burdens of historical inheritance: vanished Native American tribes, the seeds of American culture, and our physical and psychological encroachment upon the natural landscape.</p><p><br>Whether he is writing about historical legacy or his own backyard, Roderick has arrived at a voice of distinct solitariness and precise observation. With passion and sly wit, he has composed a strangely luminous book, a poetry collection that resonates with gravity, fine music, and a deep regard for the task of being human in the world. With an introduction by Robert Pinsky.</p></DIV>