Contradance

By John Peck

In a country where much of the prominent poetry seeks to affirm the fleeting present and its changing values, John Peck’s poetry comes as an important, if unlikely, gift. Peck’s verse deals the cards of the fragmentary, ideogramic, juxtapositional, and elliptical through the deck of normally discursive syntax. Echoing late high Modernism, Peck’s work, in the words of novelist Joseph McElroy, is “a way of seeing things,” confident “in the packed vividness of the referential.” Avoiding the narrow identity- or group-specific viewpoint of some of his contemporaries, Peck invites us to enter the larger humanscape and unearth with him unnoticed connections to our shared past and to one another. In Contradance, his ninth collection, Peck’s passion for inquiry and historical reflection has never been stronger or more beautifully embodied. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Release date: Aug 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9780226652931

John Peck

Sgt. John Peck (ret.) served two tours as a Marine during the War on Terror. He became a quadruple amputee after being injured by an IED for the second time, and received a groundbreaking bilateral arm transplant in 2016. John is one of only two military members to have gone through this complex surgical procedure. As a result, he has become an advocate for organ donation and encourages every American to become an organ donor. He continues his philanthropy work and is pursuing his dreams of becoming a chef. In addition, he is becoming a motivational speaker focusing on inspiring corporations, non-profit organizations and others with his message of hope and overcoming obstacles with humor and resolve. He lives with his wife, Jessica, in Bethesda, Maryland.

Book preview