I was lucky enough this past Thursday to read with poet James Jay at a book tour stop for him and old-friend Mike Faloon in Brooklyn. James read a few pieces from his new collection, The Journeymen, which is out now from Gorsky Press and won the show. More narrative in nature, the poems where gritty tales of northern Arizona (James hails from Flagstaff) and rundown bars. A few favorites were “Freddy Arizona and the Trains” and what I at first thought was called “V.W. Jesus,” but later discovered was titled “Sympathy for Jesus.” Below are the first few stanza’s from the latter. Right off the bat, Jason delivers this rich character and brings you hip deep into the poem’s story. Great stuff and I can’t recommend The Journeymen enough.

At the wheel of the V.W. bug,
Jesus, short-legged, pot-bellied,
he rounds up the kids from the trailers
of Kingman, of Birdland, of Butler.

He sticks his hands out the window
Into the scorching summer air
as the V.W. takes slow, wide turns
all on its own. “The hands of God

now have the wheel!
You better believe!”
the Jesus of the V.W. hollers.
We children scream and hoot. How can this be?