Undertones of Grace by Sharon Brisolara

“The evocative poetry of Sharon Brisolara will touch the heartstrings of every reader. In soulful language she offers us a glimpse into ordinary life, sometimes within extraordinary circumstances. Brisolara is a powerful voice of and for our times.”

–Linda Boyden, author, storyteller, illustrator & poet

Rating: ***** [5 of 5 Stars!]

Sharon Brisolara surprises us in her listening to the nuthatch, the ping of an old mattress, the ordinary sounds that continue when all else has been lost. These poems sharp with loss let blood drop from loss of mind or war enter the ordinary flower shop, where “Behind the counter/ a woman cut stems/ white-aproned and careful / the only sound in the shop / the coming together of scissors, / the fall of leaves.” For the reader, then a “cerulean swath of sky” opens as a sort of comfort in between the poems of loss and hardship.

We learn a lot about the human condition through these poems, and it is through line break and image that Sharon Brisolara skillfully directs our exploration “with undertones of grace.” A poet who expresses the tension a soldier feels in the aftermath of war or the tenderness of a daughter with her aging mother, the narrative pulse behind these lovely poems intrigues me to consider brush strokes and “oh, each dot of paint.”

–Kathryn Gessner, author of Scrub Jays in Lavender

Rating: ***** [5 of 5 Stars!]