Another Man

<P>Part reckoning with a father's chronic illness, part coming of age in the Upper South, part meditation on the slow, painful accumulation of adulthood, <I>Another Man</I> considers issues of family, care, and inheritance. These powerful poems capture unexpected moments of lucidity among the desire and heartbreak of becoming oneself.</P><P>In his debut collection, Jim Whiteside astonishes with turns of phrases that pinpoint the beauty in the mundane—the "waterfalling bodies" of fish while stocking a pond—and the mundane in the tragic, as in the realization after his father's death that "in the end so much is paperwork."</P><P>In revealing his origin story, the poet redefines the queer poem in a more nuanced and contemporary way, acknowledging queer life beyond conventional narratives. Filled with a zeal for life, a yearning for joy, and moments of sublime satisfaction, this collection shimmers with longing and freedom: "So many things our parents never mentioned, / so we gave ourselves permission."</P>