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What They're Saying
"Newman’s
first book-length collection, The Silence of Men,
explores the space between old-fashioned male silence
and contemporary male sound and presents poems that
force us to rethink the place of poetry in masculinity
studies."
–Fred Gardaphe,
Men & Masculinities
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"This is a fairly hard volume to read. Not because
the poetry is bad: it has moments of epiphany and
insight many writers would love to produce, but because
the materials and themes are so close to the bone."
–William G. Doty,
Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality
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"Superficially
The Silence of Men appears to be a guy book,
which is not to imply that women will be turned away.
This is not a guy book in the disdainful way a guy would
say a film is a chick flick, but a book that openly
portrays what a man feels and experiences […] Ultimately
Newman shows me a side of tenderness and empathy. I am
drawn into what this man and many men have gone through
to survive in this culture."
–Eve Rifkah,
Diner
///
"In many ways,
The Silence of Men can be read as a narrative.
The reader follows the speaker’s journey through a
complicated past and understands both how these events
have shaped him and how he refuses to let these events
control his adult decisions. In this debut book, the
voice the reader hears is a strong one, singing, despite
the hurts and wrongs of the past, an optimistic song in
which “the earth [can be] transformed to a tent where we
all break bread" (“Poem from the Barnes & Noble Café").
If the ending of silence is also the beginning of new
stories, I look forward to reading future books from
Newman, to hearing what he’ll sing about next."
–Amy Unsworth,
The Pedestal
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"Richard Jeffrey Newman's work is exceptional. He
expresses human emotions in ways profound, powerful, and
poignant. In The
Silence of Men, he tries "to give the dream a
shape this page will hold." How he gives life to those
words taking shape on the page is an enlightening
journey."
Laurel Johnson,
New Works Review |
