Book description
Extended Family is a sensual celebration of the varied relationships
that make up lives richly lived: from the subtle, intimate interactions
of close family members and lovers, to the mutual rewards and stresses
of relationships with friends, therapists, students and housemates. The
book begins in America, with childhood memories and adolescent love. In
the second section, 'Younger Men Have Birthdays Too', a love affair
unravels in a sequence of tender, angry love poems. In the final
section, relationships encompass casual interactions and the close
understandings of friends, loving kindness and the chaos of mental
breakdown. Linda Chase's wit and sharp eye for telling detail make this
a collection in which, with a wry eye, the poet can express heartbreak,
and the narratives of the everyday reveal unique moments of insight.
Linda Chase grew up in a suburb of New York City and studied Creative
Writing at Bennington College, Vermont. In 1980 she moved to Manchester,
England. At the age of 50 Chase began to publish poems in magazines and
journals. She then completed the MA course at Manchester Metropolitan
University. Her poems have won many prizes, and her first full
collection The Wedding Spy was published by Carcanet Press in 2001. In
January 2004 a series of 44 poems was published in PN Review under the
title Younger Men Have Birthdays Too. Teaching was an important part of
her work. Among other things, she taught residential poetry workshops
abroad, often involving Tai Chi and physical movement. Linda Chase was
tutor and North West co-ordinator for the Manchester branch of the
Poetry School, and a part-time lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan
University's Writing School.
