"Jim Landwehr's collection ambles and moseys, occasionally floors it and often takes detours along highways and byways, poking into neighborhoods, local bars, diners and fishing holes. These poems report back from across a life. Don't hurry the journey. My guess is you'll recognize someone along the way." ~ Sarah Sadie, author of We Are Traveling Through Dark at Tremendous Speeds
"Jim Landwehr's Reciting from Memory centers on a man's reflection of his past, his present and more. Not all of his experiences are good, but that doesn't prevent him from enjoying what he has. His language is simple and direct; with it, Landwehr paints stunning images. A five-year old daughter swinging on a swing matures into a coed, a meeting with an old friend, and the fleeting memories of a father taken from his family far too early can be found here, delighting the reader. I especially enjoyed the homage to Kerouac's On the Road and the decade chronicling Mash Up poems. Reciting from Memory lets us look into the poet's life and mind, sharing with him all that he has experienced." ~ Arthur Turfa, author of Places and Times
"Reciting from Memory, puts an arm around our shoulders, like a warm sweater on a chilly evening, and leads us on a stroll down Main Street, U.S.A. The nostalgia in these poems is assembled with images worthy of a Normal Rockwell painting, with the exception of a series of road trip poems that have a darker, Hunter S. Thompson-like cadence. Violence mars such a world only in terms of the historical truth of the '60s race riots, and in the fate of a tasty bluegill that children might catch and bring home for supper." ~ Lynn Marie Houston, author of The Clever Dream of Man
"Jim Landwehr's new book of poems, Reciting from Memory, delights this reader. Not only are the poems fresh and filled with enthusiasm on a variety of subjects, but the poet's commentaries within each create a dialogue with the reader. Landwehr lives life fully and his poems reflect that focus, running the whole gamut of emotions. It's one of the best books I've read this year. ~ Mary Jo Balistreri, author of Joy in the Morning and Gathering the harvest
"Even readers who suspect poetry as heady, esoteric stuff that no one understands will cherish this book. And here's why. Jim Landwehr is a poet who knows what The secret of life is... And he applies that knowledge with grace and poignancy and humor. Jim knows when to shut up/and dance. And dance he does in poem after poem of love and reaffirmation and celebration, reveling in the living of our lives. In his poem, No Loss For Words, Jim writes...
I apologize to you for my words.
Not words spoken but rather
words rolling around in my head
and my head in the clouds
-sometimes the other way round
clouds in my head
It may well be that Jim Landwehr's words roll around in this head, and his head may be in the clouds, or the other way round. But the result of all that airy searching for the stories and poems that swirl around, crowding the air, is poetry that is grounded, solid, familiar, and (yes, I'll say it!) as real as it gets. No poems in the clouds here. They're right there in the pages of Reciting From Memory. Just open it up and try one." ~ John L. Stanizzi, author of Dance Against the Wall and Hallelujah Time!
