One Brief Life

Julie Whitten's poetry is refreshingly daring. Her thoughtfully crafted poems dare the reader to remember our past, to navigate our present, and to dream of our future. She writes "I'm still just learning to breathe/creating my (extra)ordinary life/breath by miraculous breath/word by word." And so she does. Word by carefully chosen word, there is no aspect of life that escapes Whitten's poetic gaze. Whether it is a fallen leaf, or an aging female body, both are offered to the reader with intensity and unflinching frankness. Whitten captures life's trials, triumphs, and alas the poignant complications of impermanence, without -thank goodness- any syrupy calls for sympathy.

- Jennifer D. King.