Grief’s Apostrophe

In this heartbreakingly beautiful book, Steven Ratiner constructs a seamless fabric of grief, weaving threads of memory, keen observation of the natural world, variations on religious tradition, and an active awareness of language. Among the book’s smaller pleasures are complex metaphors, varied syntax, and constant attention to the word: the poet is ＂marred by, married to this compulsive/ language and cannot shut it(shout it) out even in this house of silence.＂ Which is fortunate for us who follow him as he moves from the personal before of witnessing illness and dementia, through a spiritually -deepened and globally-expanded exploration of death itself, to an after that finds solace in ＂love’s continuance, grief’s temporary reprieve,＂ as well as the more permanent gift of art. Steven Ratiner has been championing other poets for many years. This gorgeous collection of his own fine work is long overdue.--Martha Collins, author of Casualty Reports (University of Pittsburgh Press)