The Breach

Imagine walls could actually talk as a New England factory community faces closure of its signature mill due to environmental contamination and foreign competition.  This story of politics, family life, competing redevelopment schemes, gossiping locals, and a mother fiercely protecting her children is told in the voice of common objects—from the church steeple clock to a Bridgeport milling machine to an umbrella.  They witness a bit of drinking, sex, a suicide, and the hopes and dreams of the human beings around them.  How did these everyday things find their voice?  Readers may never again look at the ordinary objects around them the same.

David K. Leff

David K. Leff is an essayist, Pushcart Prize nominated poet and former deputy commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. He is the author of five nonfiction books, three volumes of poetry and a novel in verse. In 2016-2017 the National Park Service appointed him poet-in-residence for the New England National Scenic Trail (NET).  David’s journals, correspondence, and other papers are archived at the University of Massachusetts Libraries in Amherst.  He is the town historian and town meeting moderator of Canton, Connecticut where he also served 26 years as a volunteer firefighter.  David’s work is available at www.davidkleff.com