Sleuth on the Goose

By Joe Crowley

Sleuth on the Goose, the final collection of poetry by Joe Crowley, author of Hats Off to the Cap, dons the cap of the sleuth, and investigates the deeper, wilder truths hidden among classic nursery rhymes. With the poet’s delightful syntax and coy turns of phrase, Crowley breathes new life into many recognizable stories and rhymes, replacing the simple morals with astute synthesis that asks the reader to reconsider what, up until now, have been known as the facts. With his powers of scrutiny and imagination, Crowley successfully flips the script on these old children’s rhymes to reveal that things may not always have occurred as reported by Mother Goose, and that, in fact, the events were often more devious and always more hilarious when considered through Crowley’s perspective. However, as puckish as the revised narratives may be, Crowley maintains a linguistic agility that reveals this sleuth as a master of a nimble cadence and astute observation. Emphasizing a congruity of form and function, the poems of Sleuth on the Goose challenge readers to reconsider what they might daily take for granted, and reassess the establishments with a healthy, sharp-witted skepticism and revisionist mentality in order to see the world afresh.

Accompanied by the work-in-progress, “Jack Came Down, but What’s Up?”, an entertaining jaunt into the seedy underbelly of water pail fetching, and amazing hand-drawn illustrations by artist Paula Robison, Sleuth on the Goose captures the late authors wit, imagination and poetic abilities in a collection whose plots and lyricism will delight the poetry critic, entertain the lap infant, and spellbind everyone in between.