Kate Buckley Kate Buckley's poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Bellingham Review, The Cafe Review, North American Review, Shenandoah, Slipstream and elsewhere. She is the author of
A Wild Region
(Moon Tide Press, 2008); a second book, Follow Me Down, is forthcoming from Tebot Bach (2009). Her awards include a Gabeheart Prize and the North American Review's
2008 James Hearst Poetry Prize.


Praise for A Wild Region:

A Wild Region "A ribbon of Appalachia winds through Kate Buckley’s vigorous voice in her debut collection of poems, A Wild Region. It was my pleasure to choose her as the winner of the 2008 James Hearst Poetry Prize for the North American Review, and it is an equal pleasure to welcome this book of poems, crafted from the patterns of speech of the wild region Buckley loves and the wildness of its people, too."
Molly Peacock

"Kate Buckley's poems are dark prayers and lyrical ballads, infused with mystery and awe... And the stories these poems tell finely crafted as the poems are are stories that speak to all of us, accessible and clear for all their complicated depth, 'universal' precisely because they're so deeply personal, and so deeply felt. There is so much stunning language in this collection, so much accuracy and grace, and there are so many images that take my breath away... Kate Buckley shows us how the beautiful and the brutal can not only coexist alongside one another, but exist within one another. Hers is a necessary and welcome new voice."
Cecilia Woloch

"Many of the poems recall the work of poet Andrew Hudgins, both for their subject matter and use of forms. Perhaps these rhythms are a kind of heritage of the song and music of the culture that feature heavily in their poetry. Like Hudgins, Buckley can convey the physical and emotional violence of characters without apology, presenting people as they were and laying bare their choices without too much explanation... W.H. Auden once said “a poem is like a story . . . with all the boring parts left out.” Buckley certainly has many stories to tell... And she is a gifted storyteller... Perhaps, this is Buckley’s intent in many of her poems -- to take the chaotic and random pieces and make them fit, make them record a life, like a handmade quilt. Buckley’s poems are as beautiful and well-crafted."
— Allison Elliott, The Adirondack Review

"A Wild Region is a family history in verse as well as a lovely elegy for Buckley's grandmother set in a Kentucky that is both pastoral and industrial: 'I have ridden on horseback / under the harvest moon, gold and heavy' vs. 'the coughs that stained your linens black / no matter how many times you bleached them...' The elegies are especially moving: 'her wispy hair, fine as floss / cotton against the pale earth of her skull' and 'I cradle her, cradle her, and rock her home.' Pick up this book. (Buckley won this year's Hearst Poetry Prize.)"
Vince Gotera, North American Review

Watch Kate read the poem of occasion at the Laguna Beach Inaugural Gala (1/20/09)

Listen to Kate read from & discuss A Wild Region on
NPR affiliate, WUKY's, Tonic: Arts & Music Magazine


Paintings by Kate BuckleyPaintings:

Paintings: Archived & Available for Purchase

Working primarily in acrylics and mixed media collage, in subject matter ranging from mythology to philosophical quandaries of the modern age, Kate Buckley's dreamlike images create worlds all their own. Buckley's paintings are in private collections in Florida, Kentucky, New York and California. Her work is available for purchase; she is currently accepting commissions.

Kate Buckley
  © 2009 Kate Buckley