An Eye For An Eye - Edited by Michael Cohen & Clive Matson

Robert Creeley, Ferlinghetti, Pinsky … and Johnny Gunn, Reno novelist/retired reporter. Yes, a poem by Gunn is included in a post-Sept. 11 anthology that contains the works of many of America’s best-known living poets. I was sitting on the back porch of the RN&R office in downtown Reno watching my co-workers smoke when Gunn stopped by with a copy of the book. "To be in the same company as former poet laureates is hard for me to understand," he said. "But I’m not about to complain. … Take a look at page 261." Gunn’s poem, "Be Afraid," takes an anecdotal look at the loss of civil liberties in the wake of the New York disaster: "ID please, he says, no smile, eyes tight, black leather/ shined, polished, menacing." About 800 poets sent in works for the anthology. About 100 poems made the cut. I’m impressed.