On the Brink

In the "Forward" to On the Brink, Estella Lauter, an important poet and scholar, writes, "This book reflects the many ways poetry may interact with politics. It can awaken a reader to the presence of politics, witness a condition caused by politics, offer another way of seeing a political conflict, call out or satirize a political act, participate in or reframe a political argument, write back to those in power, exhort a reader to act, see beyond the present and imagine a different future. Poetry can seek to intervene in politics in many ways. There is no necessary division between poetry and politics. Poetry is not obliged to be silent about political realities." She goes on to point out that "In the United States, we have not yet produced a Pablo Neruda or Vaclav Havel, who wrote poetry and led a nation, but plenty of poets here and abroad address the issues of our time. Whether or not we can be effective in moving a larger polity remains to be seen."On the Brink is a book of political poetry, but the nature of politics in the book are intertwined with family, traveling to different places in the world, Lauter's of beauty reflected in nature, and a deep concern about where humanity, especially as it is reflected in today's United States, is journeying as attributes like compassion, good will, and good stewardship toward the earth community are thrown by the wayside and not put at the center of our nation's actions arising out of the political environment.

As Max Garland, one of our nation's widely honored poets poets says in his statement of praise for the book, "The poems here are empowered by specificity, close observation, and deep respect for the natural world. "The Earth remains, not quite intact/ but quivering with light we could still share," reads a poem near the end of the book; increasingly in these latter poems, On the Brink suggests that what hope we have as a people, or species, may depend upon our attention to the lessons and language of the natural world (the living systems of Earth) as well as an increasing awareness of what connects us. Lauter also reminds us of poetry's ongoing role in nurturing that awareness."This is the best book Lauter has produced yet.