[VIDEO] The Horrors of Fatherhood in Kearney's New Poetry Collection, "Patter"
Patter is about the pain of infertility, about imperfect fatherly role models, and the dreadful calculus involved in disciplining your children.
April 2, 2014
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"There's a thin line between love and hate," he starts, half-singing the lyric from the 1971 song by The Persuaders. "When you're dealing with a creature...who does not care about you as anything other than a way of receiving food." These are thoughts that come into the mind of acclaimed poet Douglas Kearney, whose latest collection Patter explores the struggles during a couple's infertility, of a father navigating a powerful and imperfect history of role models, and of the dreadful calculus involved in figuring out how to discipline your children.