Black Ice & Fire

"Some poems (and some poets) have staying power, and some do not. I first read James Ross Kelly's tree planting poem,"Forester",thirty-something years ago and here it is again, as fresh, and real as it was then. Kelly's work will be just as true and compelling thirty years from now. This is a wonderful collection."

Robert Leo Heilman, author ofOverstory: Zero, Real Life in Timber Country

"There are poets among us, more than we can recognize, not letting life's mysteries and gifts pass through un-noticed, like James ross Kelly, showing us the marvels of 40 years of Northwest life:

I knew at that moment

there was something I had,

that would not go away

from I Will Continue to Seek Visions, a title that names the fuel that has driven this man, that makes his words sparkle and insist."

dan raphael, author of Starting Small and Moving with Everything