Through lyrical narrative, the poems in Mandatory Evacuation find radiance in everyday people and subjects by the simple act of noticing-of seeking that which matters most. Like returning home with new eyes after a devastating storm, these poems startle us to awareness, focusing on the passage of time, the beauty of small, fleeting moments, and the importance of paying attention.

Peter Makuck is the author of numerous BOA books, most recently Long Lens: New & Selected Poems (2010). In addition to five previous volumes of poems, five poetry chapbooks, and three collections of short stories, he has co-edited a book of essays, An Open World, on the Welsh poet Leslie Norris. Two-time winner of the Brockman-Campbell Award (given annually for the best collection of poetry by a North Carolinian), he is also the recipient of the Charity Randall Citation from the International Poetry Forum and served as a juror for the annual Poet's Prize. A nominated Former Fulbright Exchange Professor to France, he was the Lee Smith Visiting Poet at North Carolina State University in 2008, and has also been a visiting writer at Brigham Young University (2000) and University of North Carolina at Wilmington (2011). His stories, poems, reviews, and essays appear widely in such places as Poetry, The Nation, North American Review, The Hudson Review, The Gettysburg Review and The Sewanee Review. Makuck is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at East Carolina University, where he founded and edited Tar River Poetry for almost thirty years. He currently lives with his wife Phyllis on Bogue Banks of Pine Knoll Shores, one of North Carolina's barrier islands.

CONTENTS


1. Notes

Picnic Near St. Rémy 8
Notes 9
Orthodox Priest 10
Burro at Christmas 11
Après Ski 12
After Skiing at Apache Sunrise 13
Roadside 14
Signs 15
Red Foxes at Pahaska Tepee 16
Canyonlands in October 18
Now 20
Jumping Mullet 21
Book Barn 22
What Color Does 23
Night Passage 24
Practice 25
Winter 26


2. Barrier Island

Barrier Island 28
Mandatory Evacuation 30
After Hurricane Earl 31
Gone 33
Power Outage 34
Out of Range 35
Nightcatch 37
Yellow Chair in the Dunes 38
Towees and Late Light 39
Advent Dark 40
Tennis Courts in December 41
Outer Banks Nightlife 42
Fixitive 44
Flu Days 45
Held 46
Blue Beyond Black and White 47
Wisteria 48
Coastal Java Shack 49



3. Tattoo

Tattoo 52
Mother's Day 54
Petunias on the Deck 56
Streetlamps 57
The Route 58
Parish School 60
Footstool and Mug 62
Names 63
Developing Story 64
Before Breakfast 66
The Other 67
Claws and Wings 68
Letter to Bill Heyen 70
Matins 72
Breath 73
Last Day on the Island 74
Après le Déluge 75

Acknowledgements 76
About the Author 78