Rob’s first book Exercising Haunts will be published with Main Street Rag. Publication date pending.
Written from the perspective of a former athlete taking stock of life, Exercising Haunts is a raw look into injury, family loss, and personal competition.
advance praise
“Though Exercising Haunts is Vance’s first published book, these are poems crafted by a master. I lost count of how many times I thought I wish I’d written that. These poems carry universal themes, and yet, these poems are so unique only Vance could’ve written them. The list of lines I’d steal is long, such as this from his poem Entertainment Tonight, ‘for longer than anyone will remember/our closest star has/masked the light of billions.’”
–malaika king albrecht, author of The Stumble Fields“Vance’s poems have a timeless sincerity and versatility of form. They speak of literal and metaphysical cardio, the inner life, our ordinary longings, victories, and close calls. Exercising Haunts shimmers with the big questions everyone asks, that few voice aloud. Reading this book is like going for a run with a friend who sets the pace, points out the birds, and makes you appreciate even the mud.”
–rebecca g. biber, author of Technical Solace“At once pedaling furiously and beatifically still, these are poems that will arrest you with their observations of life and death in motion. With a careful eye, Vance celebrates the way that human and nonhuman bodies sail through air and water—bruised and scraped, inner workings exposed to the elements. Then, silence: a bicycle sits, stiffening; the carcass of a buck rests beside a trail. Give these poems your attention; they will reward you richly.”
—shou jie eng, finalist for the 2024 Helena Whitehill Book Award