Joan LaBombard — Collected Poems

Joan LaBombard’s poetry survives in scattered magazines and three late collections that are now difficult to obtain. What can be read shows a patient, exact poet of memory and ordinary objects. In “Ohio: 1925,” hoses, porches, games, music, and a river carry childhood through decades without turning it into easy nostalgia. “Marbles” transforms a boy’s pocket and playground into a dangerous little cosmos. LaBombard grew up in Santa Monica after being born in San Francisco, published for decades, edited and encouraged other poets, and eventually gathered her work in Calendar, The Counting of Grains, and Winter Watch of Leaves. This interim reading edition presents the two complete poems available in the project’s local periodical scans and records, rather than conceals, the three missing book witnesses.