If I had a Gun

In his second collection, Poussin lyrically explores "an ongoing line of lives, seeking their well-earned peace," using poetry as story-telling to explore the thoughts of ghosts, butterflies, old men and little children. The varied perspectives unite in their examination of the beauty found in the temporary nature of our days. If I Had a Gun offers a sweeping view of humanity that is a pleasure to read. ~-Renee Emerson, author of Church Ladies / Fabrice Poussin's If I Had a Gun is full of subversions and surprises. Like figures in the paintings of Edward Hopper, Poussin's poems are populated with men and women that we come to know less by their exteriors than by the secret desires that these exteriors so well suggest. Musicality, fullness of perception, and a playful intelligence take on the big cold cosmos with grace and awe in these poems that telescope and microscope their way toward a distinctive and embracing vision. ~-James Kimbrell, author of Smote / Fabrice Poussin's poems move from the intimate to the infinite, their vibrant imagery creating worlds in which to get lost. Characters in his poems carry secrets, cracking the door for us to peer inside. I find myself reveling in knowing who they really are, in the way they want to live "in the aloneness everyone fears." At the other end of the spectrum, imagery of galaxies and space invite me to ponder the possibilities of our existence. Fabrice's poems come alive on the page, introducing us to a world of exploration and delight. ~ - Laura Leigh Morris, author of Jaws of Life