Ready to Eat the Sky

by Kevin Pilkington

Summary

Kevin Pilkington's Ready to Eat the Sky is the fourth volume in the River City Publishing Poetry Series edited by Andrew Hudgins. This latest collection by a widely published, award-winning poet accomplishes what poetry is meant it reveals to the reader a new understanding of the everyday through unexpected use of language and imagery. Set primarily in Manhattan, but also visiting the rural and coastal Northeast and Italy's Amalfi Coast region, the poems take the reader on a journey to the familiar, both universal and personal-a childhood fishing trip, a first apartment, a lost job, a failed relationship. Pilkington distills a moment in place and time with emotion and leaves the reader with ideas fluttering on the edge of understanding, like the blanket you think "is new until / a gust of wind blows it / into the air and shreds / it into a flock of pigeons." The juxtaposition of his conversational style with insightful reflection makes this an appealing collection for those looking to be both comforted and challenged.