Poetry Review written for Elizabeth McKim's Poetry Course

Craig graduated from Bates in 2001, and went on to earn an M.F.A. degree at Columbia University. To date, he is a poet, critic and freelance writer. His first book of poems, Brenda is in the Room and other Poems, was chosen by Paul Hoover as winner of the 2007 Colorado Prize for Poetry. Brenda is his wife, and the actual poem Brenda is in the Room explores co-habitation. Craig wrote the poem before they were married and had hoped that the “points” he gained for placing her name on the cover of the book would never expire; however, he implied with comic ease that this clearly has not been the case. One thing to note about the cover poem is that it explores the thresholds that the couple will cross, while explaining the process of organizing and writing the poem itself. The poem celebrates its own form, context and meaning in a way that leads the reader through step by step, line by line. Teicher writes about the time and space that he shares with his wife and the spaces between words he hopes she will understand. He also organizes the space to suit his own writing routine and includes this “marriage to the craft” as a part of the poem. “Marriage is a union,” Teicher explains, but there is an inherent separateness to it as well. The couple may cross the same thresholds and explore the same five rooms in new and different ways each time.

The first poem that Teicher read at the reading drew people in. He spoke about how it had been eight years since President Bush had been sworn in. How interesting, he thought, that it was election time again and he was back. Craig’s political views were strong and clear. He identified soldiers as the sons of mothers who believe that “ultimately justice directs them.” In this multi-sectioned poem, Craig captured the compartmentalized nature of modern life. Craig read a range of poems, including two I am poems. I loved the one where he described himself as having a fiery red beard and women’s eyes. This poem was the last poem he read and he joked how it was all about him and the title was “Narcisiss”. During the reading Craig reflected back to his times at Bates and remembered the Lounge because it had been a place where his comedy troupe practiced.

At Bates, Craig always used to write about nature, mythic creatures, while taking on the voice of an active, some-what humorous story teller. Even when delivering somber messages, this was his strength. Listening to Craig at Bates read his poem entitled “The Virtues of Birds” I listened again and found that the attention to detail and clever personifications that once appeared in his work had deepened. In his bird poem that he wrote at a nature poetry retreat, at first the two birds attempted to be polite, as they tried to decide which one of them should have the piece of bread that lay on the ground between them. By the middle of the poem, people laughed at the twists and turns the poem took us all on. The birds became distrustful and fearful one moment, then generous the next. A conversation that began as a simple “You take it first, no you” and so on ran on and on, until eventually the birds ran out of day light and the darkness began to set in and the creatures of the night surrounded them.

In all of his poems, the animals take on human qualities. Craig opens his heart to nature and his own hopes and fears without hiding behind excessive words, or being self-indulgent. As an adult poet, Craig is not afraid to claim and own his voice as the authority, and candidly examines the world with emotional candor and honesty. Craig’s style is varied; but frequently he relies on creation stories, fables, town meeting forum like structure and fairy tales to create the frame work to drive the message of his poem home. A prime example of this shone through when he read his poem about the cows. The story examined human fear and how quickly we as human beings turn toward violence to solve unanswerable questions. The story described how all of the people in this simple village grew distressed because their cows all begin to moo for days on end and wouldn’t stop. Finally, the Mayor decided that the towns’ people ought to kill the cows. What more could be done? Reluctantly, the men agreed to march to meet the cows in the fields-all the while feeling uncertain as to whether this is the right decision or not. Then, when they reached the cows, something amazing happened: the farmer’s daughter reached her hand out and touched one of the cows. The cows stopped mooing; but then, just as the villagers were ready to go home…all of the pigs in the village begin making noise. Again, the farmer’s daughter was called to come to their assistance. The men thanked her; the farmer’s daughter knew that she would never be free because she would always be with the cows, the pigs and the sheep. This piece resonated with me because I was struck by how many people’s hearts he had been able to touch with this simple tale. People were silent, in admiration of this piece.


Really, there is so much more to say. Craig is clever, humorous and creative with his imaginative, mythic lyrics. I laughed, I sighed and snorted out loud listening to his work. Craig’s poetry grants people permission to explore the depths of the human soul and challenges us to participate more in the activities going on around us.


Formally, Craig Teicher is a widely published reviewer of poetry and fiction (in Boston Review, Book forum and elsewhere). He is also a contributing editor of Pleiades, and works at Publishers Weekly. Teicher lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and son and plays drums in the band The Fourelles.