A Breviary for the Lost

What is prayer if not the acknowledgement of one's relationship to the Divine? What is poetry if not a kind of prayer that rises from the heart in image and metaphor? What is this book if not the poems offered up as testimony to the author's relationship to the Divine? From his entry into the religious life in 1965 to the 2020's pandemic pause, these are intimate prayers, images of life lived in times of transition, and metaphors of how one understands what it means to be human."Few writers can turn traditional into classical like Loren Niemi. While so many of today's artists surround themselves with noise, Niemi is a Master of silence and negative space. He has been an influencer in the poetry community for years; and, truth be told, I steal from him every chance I get."-Danny Klecko""Gratitude for Loren Niemi's gift of poetry! He helps us see the beauty in the detritus and the sacred in every moment.""-Elizabeth Ellis"Loss is paramount in these poems that traverse the canonical hours of the Catholic religious order, entered by a young Loren. Seeking an epiphany, or maybe to escape the Vietnam war, the hormonal anguish of youth grinds against "those cold chapels". When he stopped wearing the robe, things learned included "how to be alone," driving night cab, picking up John Berryman and teaching art. Niemi reflects on what it means to be at the end of life's journey, calling attention to: 'What changed? You? The world?'" -Jules Nyquist, author of Atomic Paradise, 2021 NM/AZ Book Award winnerBreviary of the Lost is superb. The framework itself is worth the read. Loren and I first met over 50 years ago, and I remain thoroughly impressed by him as an artist whether his work shows up in a frame, a story, a poem, or a memoir. In Breviary for the Lost, he is at the top of his game. -Bill McCarthy, poet. Author of Past Sins, and soon to be released, Fall Risk.