BJ Ward, an award-winning poet whose poetry and essays have been featured on<i> National Public Radio </i>and in publications such as <i>The Sun Magazine, TriQuarterly, The Literary Review, </i>and the<i> New York Times, </i>has brought together in one volume the fruits of his labor spanning over twenty years. A rich collection of thoughtful and often ironic reflections that reveal both the reverence and irreverence of human experience, <i>Jackleg Opera</i> contains the material from his three previous books <i>Landing in New Jersey with Soft Hands, 17 Love Poems with No Despair, </i>and <i>Gravedigger's Birthday</i> as well as thirty-five new poems that are reminiscent of the clear simple style of Poet Laureate Billy Collins.<br><br>Under the Elm<br>We left the party, walked / beneath a moon that seemed / more a spotlight than night, / until we found a tree. / We pressed against it / and the grass rose against us, / the sky continued to darken, / and soon days, weeks, migrations, / and metamorphoses passed / as we kissed ourselves out / of our bored lives. / Us--two thousand miles away now, / the grass still growing wild around our feet.<br><br>"In poems that both honor and transcend his blue-collar roots, BJ Ward blends poignancy and humor with downright good storytelling, and takes his place among the brightest voices of his generation."--Stephen Dunn, winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry