Worth Bateman's New Book of Poetry, X, Puts Poetry First

Related: Poetry

A new voice on the poetry scene, in "X: and Other Poems from A to Z" (published by Trafford Publishing), Worth Bateman explores life's hard truths, pleasures, and mysteries in a style that is thoughtful, ironic, good-natured and wise - qualities on display throughout this wonderful new collection.

After many years working in Washington on problems as diverse as the all-volunteer force and welfare reform, 10 years ago Bateman left behind his career in government policy and his Harvard training in economics to write poetry, trading what he calls the math of markets and the economy for "the math of life."

With intelligence and wit, he lets readers see familiar territory in a new light, often using the language of science or math to make a point or capture a moment, as in these lines from the title poem "X":

"I remember it was fun-
once we got the hang of it-
...perhaps a little taste of power
playing in this algebraic world,
solving for the unknown quantity;

not unlike the feeling I had a few years
later close dancing at the Junior Prom:
after a little bit of trial and error,
learning how to do it right,
then having the fun of solving for x."

For poetry, Worth Bateman is a late bloomer blooming, in this most original new work.

About the Author
Worth Bateman was born and grew up in Maryland, attended public schools and graduated from Western Maryland (now McDaniel) College. He won a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship and went to Harvard University where he earned a Ph.D. in economics. He served in the Kennedy, Johnson, and Carter administrations, and directed the research program at the Urban Institute. For many years he also renovated and restored old houses, one on the National Register of Historic Places. Late in his professional career, he established a vineyard at his family's farm outside Baltimore, which he continued to operate after his retirement. It was during this time that he took up writing plays and poetry. Today, the vineyard is gone but the writing continues. He and his wife Grace live in Washington and also divide their time between the family farm near Westminster, Md. and the Delaware shore. They have six children and four grandchildren.

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