Homecoming: Poems

Lovely ghosts permeate this melodic, haunting book—the poet’s wife, his father, old classmates, friends, and enemies. The poems are colored by Contoski’s affection for classical music and enriched by his deft metaphor, bold imagery, and sly humor.

"My Father's Ties"

Each morning
my fingers remember

arranging the bills in my wallet
adjusting the knots in my throat

my fingers

without a sound
over a cloth keyboard

music for a deaf man

each morning in my fingers
as they place his ties
over my heart.


Victor Contoski is the author, editor, or translator of nine books of poetry, and his fiction, poetry, criticism, and translations have been widely published and anthologized. He is a professor of English at the University of Kansas.