Poetry
Laws & Locks
- Publisher
- Véhicule Press
- Published
- April 1, 2015
- Pages
- 72
- Price
- $18.00
- ISBN
- 9781550654028
- Language
- English
On the publisher’s site (opens in a new tab) In bookstores (opens in a new tab)
Beginning with the arrival of the Campbell clan in Canada in 1827— “pale Scot farmers fording the river, / seated backwards in refusal”—Laws & Locks tracks the history of one family’s struggle with depression, madness and mental illness. Chad Campbell’s first book of poetry is a brilliant investigation, at once dazzling and unflinching, into the way our predecessors bear on our choices in the present, and how present-day consequences extend backwards in time. A skilled, self-possessed and clear-eyed poet, Campbell has produced a work of art that, while not quite confessional, transforms the private, dark, often stigmatized regions of his life into powerful poetry. It is a bracing debut. “Come now to the burning forest / not burning anymore and feel / safe enough.”
Advance Praise:
‘Muscled and big boned as Lowell’s poems on his ancestors, Chad Campbell’s lines hold enough feral energy to carve a small farm out of the great hardwood forest. This work is just and transcendent. A marvelous debut.’ –Tim Lilburn
Reviews
“Muscled and big boned as Lowell’s poems on his ancestors, Chad Campbell’s lines hold enough feral energy to carve a small farm out of the great hardwood forest. This work is just and transcendent. A marvelous debut.” – Tim Lilburn
“One of the strongest books of poetry I’ve read this year, and easily among the best debut collections I’ve read in years.” – Robert Moore, The Partisan
“Imagine an image hitting the eye with rapid-fire description, as if it were projected through a television that allowed the viewer to delight in the flicker of each frame. This is the technique Campbell favors,” – Jim Johnstone, Carousel
Description from the publisher Véhicule Press, seen in October 2026 · Source ↗
Also by Chad Campbell
-
Nectarine Chad Campbell
From Véhicule Press
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We Drove All Day for This Bruce Taylor
-
Qaf’s People Sadiqa de Meijer
-
My Summer Vacation Zeenat Nagree
-
Cannibal Rats Richard Greene
-
Morgan’s Castle Jan Hilliard
-
How to Move On Joel Yanofsky
-
Private Number David Homel
-
Fan Mail Jason Guriel
-
The Inferno Dante Alighieri
-
Quietly, Loving Everyone Curtis John McRae
