Dead Boys I Have Known
Author: Joanna Grant
ISBN: 979-8-9896607-5-9
Publisher: River Paw Press
Page Count: 42
Language: English
As the world once again witnesses escalating violence in the Middle East, and in light of the poet’s lived experience teaching deployed American soldiers overseas, Dead Boys I Have Known, an award winning chapbook by Joanna Grant carries a heightened sense of urgency and relevance. The poems in this book remind us that behind every headline is a name, a face, and a life remembered. It is a timely and resonant work that readers will not want to miss.
Now Available For Pre-Order at a Special Price

Joanna Grant’s “Dead Boys I Have Known” is exuberant in its lamentation. Yes, there are the boys who died in youth and adulthood—she looks on them with erotic, motherly and teacherly eyes. But the verse letters addressed to the ghost of Sylvia Plath hold equal poignance. What’s more, Grant knows when to cheer as well as when to grieve. She celebrates sexuality and even menopause. She has lived all over the world, and it shows. Her cosmopolitan perspective on war and global politics sends the reader traveling far and wide to locales as exotic as Alaska, South Korea and Qatar. If you want the full range of life, the grief and the glory, this book provides it in spades.
~ Aaron Poochigian, author of Four Walks in Central Park and Mr. Either/Or and translator and teacher of the Greek and Roman classic
Joanna Grant writes with heart and depth about the realities of life (and death) in the modern world. Her collection Dead Boys I Have Known focuses a keen eye on the horrors of war, the grief of loss, suicide, and her own insignificance faced with all that she has observed, as in ‘Reeds’: ‘I am small / I whisper // this is who I am / forgive me.’ She captures a feeling of urgency using a variety of forms from free verse to beautifully complex haibun, with a stop along the way for the epistolary. This is a moving collection that takes the reader on a journey of both hurt and hope. Which is the road and which the destination? Read it and decide for yourself.
~ Ace Boggess, author of Tell Us How to Live and The Prisoners
Dead Boys I have Known (Poetry Chapbook) – Price: $17.99
Availability & Special Offer
For a limited time, River Paw Press is offering Dead Boys I have Known at a special price of
$16.00, with free shipping within the United States.
Regular price thereafter: $17.99 plus a flat $5.00 shipping and handling fee.
•U.S. Orders: Shipped directly by River Paw Press
•International Orders: To avoid high international shipping costs, we recommend purchasing the book through Amazon or other major online retailers in your country. You may also contact us by email for international shipping and handling costs, if you want the book to be shipped directly by River Paw Press.
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