The Whole Shebang: The Collected Poems Of James R. Van Laan

The Whole Shebang is a four-part collection of poems exploring survival, love, and loss.

A Railing Against the Night offers a defiant meditation on death, honoring those who have been lost while giving grief its full voice.
Survival As the Whole of Existence reflects on endurance, memory, and the lived complexities of staying alive.
Hymns of a Would-Be Lover traces love in its many forms longed for, fading, broken, and still hoped for.
NanSong gathers intimate poems written to the great love of the poet’s life, reflecting devotion, loss, and grace.

Together, the collection stands as a quiet, lyrical witness to grief, resilience, and the enduring presence of love.