Drinking from the River

New & Selected Poems, 1975–2015

This collection of poems documents the evolution of a talented and original Texan poet through his 40-year career. A seminal figure in the small press movement of the 1960s and ’70s in Texas, Charles “Chip” Dameron’s work is well-known among older Texas readers. In it he explores the complexities of the inner and outer worlds, whether writing about love, death, a bird’s wing, or a painting’s energy. He is both an introspective lyric poet and an environmentally sensitive observer, both globally and in his native Rio Grande Valley. This mature collection contains the best of the poet’s earlier work as well as a number of new poems that reflect his latest preoccupations.