Spat

In Spat, Lois Marie Harrod  examines—head-on, upside down and sideways—the little fractures that  haunt our intimate relationships. Intentional or no, sometimes  mysterious in nature, they lead as often to bafflement as repair. “Well,  says my therapist friend/the danger comes/when you start talking…” And  also to what glues us together, as in. “…a rabbit leaps/between your  legs,/and you feel his fur/brush your calves/and I imagine/I feel it  too.” Harrod is the keenest of observers—smart, wry, empathic and  generous. These poems open windows, allowing us to eavesdrop on the  bleating heart.

–Juditha Dowd, author of Audubon’s Sparrow and Mango in Winter.

Who but Lois Marie Harrod would name a book Spat?  Although the husband neglects to carry his glass to the sink, he  remains “the guest of her heart.” Whether about doorknobs, language, or  the heart, these poems exhibit Harrod’s unique combination of passion  and humor.

–Penelope Scambly Schott, author of On Dufur Hill

Harrod creates various personas in her new book of poems Spat.  Some  are contemplative, some nostalgic, some whimsical, all are smart. My  favorite is the passive/aggressive narrator who asks, “What is there to  fix?” about a marriage that needs much fixing. These poems are full of  wit, “I don’t know how to define our hide and tweak”…and wisdom, “the  danger comes when you start talking.” And there is music here, playful  and beautiful music, “the rat a tat tattle in the brain,” “jammering  like a jackhammer.” When you read these poems aloud, even your mouth  will be happy.

–Peter E. Murphy, Founder of Murphy Writing of Stockton University