The Round Whisper of No Moon

The Round Whisper of No Moon weaves imagery and story gathered over twenty years of migrating between the wilds of Alaska and densely populated cities in Southeast Asia. Peter Kaufmann's poems travel between cultures and communities, the natural world, and stories of people in the margins of society. They draw from a life of both deep connections to place and one that is constantly uprooted, stitching together themes of migration, home, love, longing and belonging.

"In a world of next, next, next, Kaufmann's poems strike the resonant NOW gong. The Round Whisper of No Moon is a riveting book to keep close by, on your shrine."

-Naomi Shihab Nye

Young People's Poet Laureate, The Poetry Foundation

"Poem after poem invests complete trust in the power of images to tell the heart's most intimate desire. Alaska, California, Viet Nam, Cambodia-and curiosity, kinship, grief-are all home if you are one who can see. Put this book inside you, and then practice what it teaches: say what you love and long for. Don't delay."

-Kim Stafford, Oregon Poet Laureate (2018-2020)

author of Singer Come from Afar

"This poet wraps us in that space between warm and bright, and the coming cold, where we balance, breathless. The imprint of these poems will live long on your skin."

-Emily Wall, author of Fist and Breaking into Air