God Talk of the Gorge: Alaska Poems
Contributed by Eric Gordon Johnson
In God Talk of the Gorge, Eric Gordon Johnson confronts growing up on the edge of Anchorage, Alaska, when the state was still a territory. “Growing up” includes his adult life. These poems revolve around the gradual realization of what it means to live in the presence of life, death and grief. Subjects include ice skating, composting, running Mount Marathon, moose, bear, dogs, geologic time, clouds and spreading ashes. Ultimately, a resolution is found in the acceptance of the world as it is given to us.
Eric Gordon Johnson was born in Fairbanks in 1948 and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. He is a retired geotechnical engineer, mountain runner, cross-country skier, clarinet player and tenor. He sings in the Anchorage Concert Chorus and the Anchorage Opera Chorus. He and his wife live adjacent to Chugach State Park on the mountains above Anchorage. He earned an MFA in Creative Writing in poetry at the University of Alaska Anchorage in December 2020. He has published poetry, fiction and memoir in Cirque Literary Journal, Alaska Humanities Forum, Anchorage Daily News and Anchorage Remembers. He is a member of Drumlin Poets, Poetry Parley and 49Writers. He has also taught poetry classes for Opportunities for Lifelong Education.
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