Tea in the Pacific Northwest

Jim Landwehr is a master of metaphor and the poems in Tea in the Pacific Northwest speak eloquently of old cars, old loves, old dogs, and travels to places real and imagined. There is subtle humor mixed with profound melancholy in these poems. The poet gives us memories of youth, pandemic musings, and predictions for the future, all reminding us in more ways than one that "life ain't nothin'/but a house party."

-Lisa Vihos, author of Fan Mail from Some Flounder and poet laureate of Sheboygan

In Tea in the Pacific Northwest, Jim Landwehr, with captivating and colorful imagery, leads the reader through the backdrop of his life-past childhood and adolescent recollections, through adult hurdles and misgivings, as well as some philosophical observations about some positive and negative aspects of having had to cope with the recent pandemic in our lives. There are themes of loss, family relationships, coping with political trends, and, of course, the eventful and largely suspect tea with a kindly Bigfoot/ Sasquatch fantasy that provides the title poem bound to gently tickle with humor one or more of the philosophical bones in your body.

-Stephen Anderson, author of High Wire

In Tea in the Pacific Northwest, readers will find the humor, sensitivity and life-affirming writing they've come to expect from Landwehr's previous work. This poetry collection encompasses the reflections of a well-appreciated life, from "a Minnesota boy growing up" to the mature understandings in "Funeral Wish," where the poet instructs us to dance "until you're sweated through" because "life ain't nothin'/but a house party." Landwehr's skill with language, "she carried her sadness in a/flamingo print bag," and use of imagination, "I had tea with Sasquatch yesterday" are reasons readers will enjoy this delightful book.

-Susan Martell Huebner, author of She Thought the Door Was Locked and Gathering Sticks for the Fire