title: On the Loose
author: Judith Askew
description: About On the Loose "Think how much fun it would be to meet someone for lunch who'd talk about Claes Oldenburg's giant clothes pins; Robert Bly's poem on clothes pins; her (very different) grandmothers' attitudes towards laundry; her memories of strange things seen on laundry lines over the years; and, just when you're about to condemn the conversation for being alluringly yet frivolously amusing, a brief frown, and the sobering apercu that we're hanging, all of us, on laundry lines ourselves and could at any time 'fall out of history' along with the silly, near-obsolescent clothes pins. Because these poems don't seem to take themselves too seriously, they feel like a conversation-free-floating, often concerned with everyday issues-with a friend willing to talk about almost anything that comes into her head, skipping around (as if to prove you're getting all her thoughts as she's thinking them, not just the censored acceptable ones) and yet, quite often, delivering a momentary gust of wisdom, dark agnosticism, and even scathing indictment to remind you you're not really in a completely safe place, but with someone unafraid and even willing, without warning, to face terror. Treat yourself to this book. The companionship of Judith Askew is delightful and instructive too, and On the Loose represents her finest poetry to date." -Alan Feldman, author of A Sail to Great Island and Happy Genius "Watching a young mother learning to speak in 'baby talk, ' Judith Askew remarks that this mother is learning the 'language of love and full attention.' Poetry speaks its own ever-evolving, increasingly complex dialect of love and attention, and On the Loose offers us this poet's eloquent yet down-to-earth evocation of the predicaments and dilemmas of life in our time, especially those faced by women. Here are poems that address the 'secrets' of a girl's coming of age, the enchantments of Eros, and the negotiations of adult responsibilities to aspects of self and others. Here also are poems that confront our mortal limits, yet all the while keep in mind the beauty we dwell within. And most of all, here are poems that take the measure of our fundamental human desire for connection and the equally strong yearning of the spirit to be utterly free. Blake tells us that eternity is in love with the products of time. Judith Askew's poetry helps us understand why." --Fred Marchant, author of The Looking House and Tipping Point "On the Loose is a collection of poems full of distinctive wit and nine kinds of liveliness-- intellectual, emotional, sexual, plaintive, and otherwise. The poet consistently finds quick and original speech for the particularities of our human condition, and she is full of witty self-perspective as well. On the Loose covers all the rites of passage, including loss and sorrow, but a tone of genuine amusement and the resourceful idiom to make it believable are its reliable poetic allies. Full of pleasure and sensibility, this is a book that will make its readers happy." --Tony Hoagland, author of Donkey Gospel and What Narcissism Means to Me About Bass River Press "Bass River Press is on the cusp of filling something that has been profoundly empty in the literary arts on Cape Cod for some time now. Namely, the proliferation and circulation of poetry. For those unfamiliar with the poetry community on Cape Cod, this peninsula comprises a plethora of poetic talent, as can be heard from the recesses of any open mic from Plymouth to Provincetown. With the advent of Bass River Press, we can now expect to hear these voices from the inner ear of the printed page. A welcome addition!" --John Bonanni, poet and Founding Editor of the Cape Cod Poetry Review
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  **Off Like a Prom Dress: Let’s Do It Again**
  
  
  **Copyright © July 2010 by Roslyn Hardy Holcomb** All rights reserved. This
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  eISBN 978-1-60737-536-4
  
  
  Editor: Judith David
  
  
  Cover Artist: April Martinez
  
  
  Printed in the United States of America
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Published by
  
  
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