Benedict Grant — Touchstone Distinguished Books Honorable Mention 2024

Benedict Grant is the recipient of a Touchstone Distinguished Books Honorable Mention for 2024 for the volume Winterizing (Winchester, VA: Red Moon Press, 2024).

Commentary from the Panel:

This book was a welcome surprise for those of us unfamiliar with Benedict Grant or his previous book, Spirit Level, which was shortlisted for a Touchstone in 2022.

The title, Winterizing, accurately forecasts the overall theme and tone of the book. And the epigraph, a quote from Thoreau, further indicates:

“In winter every man is, to a slight extent, dormant, just as some animals are but partially awake…”

What this collection of poems depicts, however, is not the natural winter season so much as a season of life — a winter of the soul — irrespective of the calendar year. One of those long, hard stretches when you just want to hibernate. But dormant or not, Grant the poet is fully awake:

these mountainous wee small hours

morning dew
just a little something
for the pain

graveside service
stumbling to the end
of the poem

This highly personal winter is also reflected in the larger state of the world:

while we struggle
to define democracy
dandelions

small town
the ash of a cigarette
holding its shape

While most of the poems are in minor keys, with little in the way of sweetness and light, there are bittersweet moments along the way:

late-night call
the distant shore
a little closer

And there are elements of irony and humor:

end of days—
but first, a few words
from our sponsor

an anguished scream
from a tortured soul
pulling up a chair

These poems, whatever key they’re in (or form they take, or experience they limn), sound pitch perfect to the ear, the mind, and the heart. The book is an engaging read with a satisfying arc from start to finish. By the last chapter that long winter has finally run its course and given way:

fresh start
switching from portrait
to landscape

once again
for the first time
spring

See the complete list of winners of both Individual Poem Awards and Distinguished Books Awards in the Touchstone Archives.