Somewhere We'll Leave the World

Poems suggesting that living on Earth takes a lot of practice.


The poems in Russell Thorburn’s Somewhere We’ll Leave the World are fluid and masterful with a flow that captures an authentic consciousness. These poems breathe and allow the reader breathing room. Powerful images and deft endings arrive like the best kind of emotional left hook—the kind that leaves you wanting more.

This book is for long-walkers and dreamers who don’t mind the cold or heat or the miles ahead. The reader is taken on a journey through snowy woods, stopping to confront a wolf or meet with Jim Harrison. Divided into four sections, Somewhere We’ll Leave the Worlddraws on the poet’s own experiences while imagining chance encounters with fictional characters and personal heroes. Before long, it is obvious to the reader that every moment is up for grabs—a late night viewing of Hell Is for Heroes, a drive down Woodward Avenue in a friend’s Volkswagen, a hike through the Mojave National Preserve. Through the book’s filmic scenes, imagine Wim Wenders behind the camera as the poet re-creates the scenes of his own life. In good company with the likes of Charles Bukowski and James Wright, Thorburn tips his hat to those who have come before him, while blazing his own winding and fantastical trail.

This thoroughly unique poetry collection gives us an honest and lyrical assessment of national wounds. Fans of surreal poetry will relish Thorburn’s work.