One Johnny Reappear

One Johnny Reappear is a structured poetry collection by John J. Beach that centers on his thirty-five-year engagement with the terzanelle poetic form. As a mathematical homage to the "one-third" principle of the terza rima from which the form is derived, the book is organized into three distinct sections of 25 poems each. The Faith section sequentially explores his formative childhood memories from Waterville, Minnesota, ranging from family dynamics and "sandbox skirmishes" to early physical challenges like colorblindness. The Action section transitions into the labor and roles of adulthood, specifically focusing on Beach's core identity as a "grocery-store man." In this section, he reframes personal challenges through a technical lens, such as how he navigates hearing loss by treating the act of listening as an algebraic process of "solving for X." He also explores the various "masks and personas" individuals wear in service to others. The final section, Reflection, offers meditations on life, legacy, and Beach's professional history in the Information Technology and educational worlds. Beach provides a Glossary to help translate the specialized "Geek Speak" of his "native tongue"; the language he's chosen to deploy are the most exact and honest words he knows. By the journey's end, Beach demonstrates how the terzanelle acts as a "sturdy container"—a liberating force used not to lock his experiences away in puzzle boxes, but to finally free them.