Books by Jason Gray

At 2:30 on an unseasonably cool, partly cloudy afternoon in late September 1911, the cement dam located a mile above the mill town of Austin, Pennsylvania, gave way, unleashing a wall of water cascading down the narrow valley toward the town and sweeping away everything in its path with the explosive power of a nuclear bomb. Lulled by the assurance of engineering experts that the dam would forever withstand the pressure of the pent-up waters above the town, three thousand unsuspecting residents of Austin went about their slow-paced Saturday routines.Some floundered and drowned in the raging waters that consumed the town, some were battered to death by logs and debris swept up by the torrent, and some, the lucky ones, raced to the safety of higher ground. Stories of heroism, sacrifice, cowardice, and selfishness emerged from the aftermath. The residents of Austin represented; after all, simply a crosscut sample of humanity, exposing the best and worst in times of crisis.Washed Away is a work of fiction that unfolds in the historical context of this real-life tragedy. Committed to go beyond the sensational journalism of that era, two enterprising young reporters from Buffalo, Rusty Shephard and Katie Keenan, join forces to investigate the causes and determine accountability for the disaster. As their investigation begins to unmask the deceit and greed of those responsible, they encounter desperate acts of coverup, recrimination, suicide, and murder, placing their own lives in mortal danger. In their journey to uncover the truth and seek justice, they are absorbed in the emotional turmoil of the town and of their own relationship.

Mauritian culture is too often known for the dodo: an extinct, flightless bird who inhabited the island that died out during European colonisation. It is time to move forward and ensure our robust yet marginalised culture houses and projects all the diverse individual voices within it.HAUNT (THE KOOLIE) is poetry; a neo-Coolie meditation, exorcism of racial bigotry and satire of fear-mongering, from a decolonial Mauritian-Australian perspective.Suburban mainstream yachts grow, giantweeds in driveways, outlawgutter trophies, never seem toLike! Find water?But: I am Black enough to holdthe Whiteness in meon me and @-me, account without countinga graceless film-fade into seething lighthide colour, enlighten or diesettling, whiny-rewind VHS scores(At Aussie, we’ll save you!)

A Journey Beyond is a work of fiction but rooted in the reality of human experiences, including childhood friendships and adventures, eternal bonds of love and loyalty, the intrigue of quantum theory, and the limitless possibilities of the union of science with imagination.The initial setting is on the front porch of an old farmhouse in central Iowa, where an aging farmer, Ray, reflects upon a boyhood adventure on that very farm that begins a journey on a path of discovery, mystery, fear, betrayal, tragic death, unbearable loss, and ultimately a chance for redemption and reunion.The emotional trauma and confusion Ray endures on this journey are made bearable by the supportive relationship of his wife, Bunny, with whom as a teenage beauty queen he falls in love, shares the joy and sorrow of raising and losing a child, nurses through the stages of a debilitating disease, and struggles to confess his dark secrets.In his quest to solve a lifelong mystery, Ray discovers evidence of murder and cover-up, flees from the pursuit of federal agents, and finds his chance for escape beyond in an energy source with the power to cut through the fabric of four-dimensional space-time.

Jason Gray is the author of Photographing Eden, winner of the 2008 Hollis Summers Prize. He has also published two chapbooks, How to Paint the Savior Dead and Adam & Eve Go to the Zoo. His poems have appeared in Poetry, The American Poetry Review, The Kenyon Review, Literary Imagination, Poetry Ireland Review, and many other places. Besides writing, he spends time taking pictures of things.

Presents the collection of poems. This book meditates on several ideas, the crux of which is Eden: spirituality, environmentalism, and the relationships between men and women.