God Talk of the Gorge: Alaska Poems
In God Talk of the Gorge, Eric Gordon Johnson confronts growing up on the edge of Anchorage, Alaska when the State was still a Territory. “Growing up” includes his adult life. These poems revolve around the gradual realization of what it means to live in the presence of life, death and grief. Subjects include ice skating, composting, running Mount Marathon, moose, bear, dogs, geologic time, clouds and spreading ashes. Ultimately, a resolution is found in the acceptance of the world as it is given to us.
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“A profound, at times painful, homage… death makes life beautiful.”
—Sandra Wassilie, author of The Dream That Is Childhood: A Memoir in Verse
“Takes us beyond the alpenglow… to the ritual of intentional listening about what it means to be human.”
—Vivian Faith Prescott, author of The Divination of Salmon and Silty Water People
“Eric Johnson describes the Nordic landscape with intimacy, wonder, and expertise… a person who cares deeply about the people, wildlife, and places he encounters.”
—Zack Rogow, author of Irreverent Litanies and Hugging My Father’s Ghost
About Cirque Author — Eric Johnson
Eric Gordon Johnson was born in Fairbanks and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. A retired geotechnical engineer, he is also a mountain runner, cross-country skier, clarinet player, and tenor with the Anchorage Concert Chorus and Anchorage Opera Chorus. He earned his MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2020. His poetry, fiction, and memoir have appeared in Cirque, Alaska Humanities Forum, Anchorage Daily News, and Anchorage Remembers. He lives with his wife near Chugach State Park above Anchorage.