I have long wished to hold in my hands Richard Nester's first collection of poetry, with its sons and fathers, its sometimes riotous family collisions between the Southern Protestant boy and his Jewish in-laws, its girls and suicides, its cold wars, and its jazz. I am glad to welcome and recommend Buffalo Laughter to the world.
Marly Youmans, poet, novelist, and National Book Award Nominee
Richard Nester’s debut collection, Buffalo Laughter, is the work of a poet whose maturity, observant nature and intelligence leaves little doubt of his gifts. In poems such as “First Work,” he writes of being set the task of pulling nails to find that, with enough verve, he can produce “smoke and spark.” It is there, in the heat produced by grit and words, survival and syntax, lived experience and metaphor that Nester turns anecdote into art. The tone of the poems range, as do the landscapes, and the various vernaculars heard across America to condense great distances into succinct images, recollections, and meditations. I was genuinely moved by Nester’s poetry, its artistry and humanity.
Kathryn A. Kopple, poet, translator, essayist, and the author of Little Velásquez, a novel set in 15th century Spain
Buffalo Laughter is a book that asks for something more than simple wakefulness, more than merely cracking the door to our hearts. These poems remind us how high the stakes are in this life, how worthy of fierce vigilance and passionate engagement. These poems want us down on the floor— knees dirty, then up against the wall in a fight for all we love.
Tim Seibles, author of Fast Animal