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The Poetry Society of Texas has honored Terry Jude Miller<\/strong><\/a> on multiple occasions; his latest book, The Drawn Cat\u2019s Dream<\/em> (The Poetry Society of Texas), received the Catherine Case Lubbe Manuscript Prize in 2018. Generous in his support of fellow poets, Miller created the Texas Poets Podcast<\/em> to celebrate the diverse landscapes of statewide literary artists. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Miller\u2019s inspiration for The Drawn Cat\u2019s Dream<\/em><\/strong><\/a> came from a sketch of his childhood home, which he hung above his writing desk. In this, his fourth poetry collection, he shares his youthful explorations on his family\u2019s rice farm, \u201cthose hard and tender fields.\u201d The titles of his poems\u2014”The Curse of Careless Fathers,\u201d \u201cMy Brother\u2019s Workshop,\u201d \u201cFrench Twist\u201d \u2014reflect insights and clarity. The author doesn\u2019t try to impress us with bloated language. About the necessary losses that come with aging, he speaks with specificity and rich imagery:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Her Brush”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n her brush waits silently on a vanity<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n bristles reach into the night<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n unbearable stillness falls upon the handle<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n like milkweed pollen<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n sadness weaves with broken hair<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n calls from the forest of memory<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n like a distant hound lost<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n among the trees<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n mirror fractured in spider web circles<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n reflects the thousand faces<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n of a broken man.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In “You Have to be this Tall,” <\/em><\/span>he says,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n once you close the curtain <\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n on your role as victim,<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n as suffering martyr<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n they give you access <\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n to the roller coaster switch<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n you still can\u2019t control<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n where the dips and climbs are<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n but you can manage, to some degree,<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n the speed with which you enter<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n and exit.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Dr. Robin Davidson, Houston Poet Laureate 2015-2017, had this to say about The Drawn Cat\u2019s Dream<\/em>:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt is in the poet\u2019s deeply personal encounter with mortality that he pledges to live in the here-and-now where there is \u2018no past\/nor future,\u2019 where he can celebrate human relationship and our kinship with all living things.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lonestarliterary.com\/sites\/lonestarliterary.etypegoogle10.com\/files\/article_body_images\/05a_tjm.jpg\")
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