Come! Come! Where? Where?

“A reflective and tender essay collection . . . . the kind of book that, by its end, reminds us of our world and our place in it. Even when it focuses on death, it is still buzzing with life.”—Chapter 16, Humanities Tennessee

“Crisp and entertaining. . . . Come! Come! Where? Where? isn’t a sad book, even when it does deal with sadness; it’s genuinely as life-affirming as the sparrow song translated by its title.”—North Carolina Literary Review

“With the touch of a poet and the depth of an offshore fisherman (both of which he is), James Seay ranges from wrangling with hard men and heavy equipment to feeling for his butter-churning mom and a baby cowbird. The little cowbird is ignored, except by Seay, but this book shouldn’t be.”—Roy Blount Jr., author of Alphabet Juice

“From single-wides to severed digits and the naming of dogs, Come! Come! gently explores the beautiful, the profound, and the sad, illuminating the rich and varied human spectacle with wisdom and kindness. ”—Sally Mann, photographer and author of Hold Still

“I have long revered James Seay as a poet, and this collection confirms he is also a superb essayist. As in his poetry, Seay’s language is never ostentatious but honed to an intense clarity that makes the elegiac focus of these essays all the more heartbreaking. Come! Come! Where? Where? resonates long after the last page is turned.” —Ron Rash, author of Serena

“In these detailed, nuanced essays, Seay brings attention to understudied subjects, including rural places in the South and the nature of work. A real contribution to literature about working people.”—Toni Jensen, author of Carry