In his latest collection, William Bernhardt again demonstrates that he is a true poet, one whose work accomplishes the difficult task of being both accessible and profound. He communicates with grace and illumination, avoiding the obscurity and obfuscation that sometimes causes readers to avoid modern poetry. He writes about the subjects that matter most: personal relationships, family, children, and the challenges of everyday life. Bernhardt is a poet who appeals even to those who think they don’t like poetry and is cherished by those who do.
While addressing subjects of everlasting import, Bernhardt’s poems are engaging, relevant, and sometimes playful, reminiscent of beloved predecessors such as Billy Collins and Robert Frost. Readers will be struck by the versatility of the poems and the wide range of form. Smart, lyrical, observant, and textured, these poems explain why Rilla Askew (Kind of Kin) called Bernhardt “a compelling new voice in American poetry” and R.C. Davis-Undiamo (World Literature Today) named him one of “the nation’s literary treasures.”
