{"product_id":"9780889712591","title":"Tenderman","description":"\"I grew up in a blue-collar town ten minutes down the road from a white-collar town. And I've spent most of my life uncomfortable in both places.\"\u003cp\u003eWith these opening words, accomplished poet Tim Bowling outlines the central tension that acts as a vital force in his newest book, Tenderman--the dichotomy between the sensitive poetic observer and the tough, working-class subject. Bowling returns again to the shores of his BC hometown that exert such a strong hold on his imagination, but through his focus on the tenderman figure, he also demonstrates wry self-awareness in doing so. The tenderman (a crewman on a salmon packing boat), who represents a fiercely independent everyman, acts as unintentional muse to the collection; its poems are often delivered through dialogues between poet and fisherman, reminiscences of their shared childhoods, or narratives delivered by the tenderman himself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs always, Bowling's verse is stunning in its haunting portrayal of West Coast imagery, depicting both natural beauty (\"the Spanish silhouette\/ crouched in warm salt dark\") and the grim realities of fishing (\"The kicks and slaps of a hold of dying fish--\/ hands in an auditorium\") with effortless grace.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nightwood Editions","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47033898008816,"sku":"9780889712591","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780889712591_p0.jpg?v=1763847490","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780889712591","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}