A Marriage Book ─ Poems

From James P. Lenfestey, a collection of poems that lends delicacy and gentle humor to durable, long-lasting love.

Writing love poems fifty years into a marriage is no easy task: "If he exaggerates his love, she'll know . . . And if his desire for her is undiminished, / who would believe? ,But in A Marriage Book, Lenfestey meets his own challenge with aplomb. These poems drop readers into the rich, textured world of one couple's enduring intimacy, from the warmth of a bedroom occupied by two to squabbles over miscommunications and crumbs in the kitchen.

As the marriage (and the Book) transition into parenthood, Lenfestey illuminates the equally stalwart wonder of observing one's children as they age and develop. Paternal love persists, and is even fed by, watching his children argue, suffer their own mistakes, and roar horrible breath at breakfast. -So much poetry is about storms, / bruised fruit, locusts eating everything, he writes. "This poem is about a harvest that satisfies."

A Marriage Book is a collection that essences the magic from the household quotidian, creating a technicolor portrait of a vibrant and dynamic family.

James P. Lenfestey is a former college English instructor, alternative school administrator, marketing communications consultant, and editorial writer for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, where he won several Page One awards for excellence. Since 2000, he has published a collection of essays, a poetry anthology, five collections of his own poems, several poetry chapbooks, and co-edited Robert Bly in This World. As a journalist he covers education, energy policy, and climate science. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife of forty-seven years. They have four children and seven grandchildren.