Firstborn

Firstborn is a book of poems and anecdotes which starts where Tracks on Damp Sand leaves off. Here we find that the firstborn eaglet to that pair of bald eagles we met in Tracksis a female who leaves the nest reluctantly. We see her struggle and learn to survive in her world as the humans in her immediate surroundings learn to survive in theirs. Nothing comes easy for bird or humans, but light catches the moments and makes them touching and memorable. Over and over we see how all of life is truly a gift.

Franco Pagnucci, Emeritus Professor of English at the Univeristy of Wisconsin–Platteville, has published storytelling books for teachers and students as well as six volumes of poetry: Breath of the Onion: Italian-American Anecdotes (2015), Tracks on Damp Sand (2014), a chapbookImprints of Your Tires on Damp Sand (2012), Ancient Moves (1998),I Never Had a Pet (1992), and Out Harmsen’s Way (1991). He has also been the editor for two antholgies: New Roads Old Towns(1988) and Face the Poem (1979). His essays have appeared in such publications as The Christian Science Monitor andCommonweal. His poems have been published in many periodicals and anthologies, including News of the Universe,American Voices, and Best American Poetry 1999. He and Susan Pagnucci, a paper artist, live in the lake country of northern Wisconsin, where they work on handmade poetry books.