Fringe

With language that cuts to the bone, the poems in Jennifer Burd's Fringe offer portraits of those on the ragged edges of modern society. Among these poems, readers will find a homeless man's story of being mugged; an immigrant woman's quest for her GED so she can leave the stifling confines of her husband's house; the plea of a developmentally disabled man for someone to teach him to read; and prison inmates' longings for acceptance. Letting images and stories speak for themselves, this collection brings into full view the desperation, resilience, and creativity of those who are routinely overlooked or actively brushed aside by mainstream culture. The lyric poems, framed with dictionary fragments, quotes on social inequalities, and haiku by Burd, put the reader in the spaces - inner and outer - of the marginalized.