ROBERT GRUNST- BLUE ORANGE - PUBLICATION DATE: MAY 15, 2012- Winner of the Robert McGovern Publication Prize- "Blue Orange is an extraordinarily vibrant book, peopled with vivid characters—Smethers, Dottie, Ramón—come alive, singing gospel, bowling, planting, harvesting, driving to Korea in an old Ford. The vignettes make one nostalgic for a carefree, exultant small town mid-America, even if this world seems oddly archetypal, hyper-real and historicized in a tintype. Even if, like Gaspar and Miguel Corte Real’s, Donald’s whereabouts will never be settled; even if roofs and swing set sets are treacherous. Even if the dogs…. Beyond family and tribe the book attempts a daring global reach in various colorful travel poems: exuberant flora and fauna assert themselves—marmosets, shrikes, horses telling tales and leaping out of their otherworldly Latin America taxonomies, making ‘elsewhere’ here. Ultimately, this book is a joyous reading adventure, making even the most blue-cast among us sing ‘hallelujah!’ and devour tasty oranges. I love this book!” - Marilyn Chin