Boatman, Pass By by Kathleen Holliday

When the apocalypse comes (and I assure you, it’s on the way) make sure to have a copy of Kathleen Holliday’s Boatman, Pass By with you. These are the poems that will get you through it; that will remind you what it was all about, or at least to wonder what it was all about. Death dances through this book, reminding you amidst the fun of old flings, amidst how some nights, alone, you simply become one of the cats, that it’s on the way; that it’s so intriguing you might want to see what it’s all about. But then it’s diffused with life-moments, public displays of affection, and a consistent need to put new words in your eyes. You’ll want to hold off on that final boat ride, just to see what else may come along. Whatever does, bring Boatman, Pass By with you. This collection is exactly what you need to get you through.

–Rick Lupert – Author of The Tokyo-Van Nuys Express, and God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion, founder/host of Poetry Super Highway, www.poetrysuperhighway.com

Boatman, Pass By is an illuminating collection of poems that reflect experiences many of us have shared: loneliness, loss, isolation, and death of a loved one. Holliday touches these memories and events with fresh and surprising metaphors: “The news of your death/carried me like a runaway horse…” She writes about the pandemic and offers us unique and intimate moments. As she says, “So today, when one of my sisters/snorted derisively, / What can you do in the apocalypse?/ I said, I’ll tell the tale around the fire/of how we survived,..”/ And in this chapbook, she does. Holliday captures our humanity with this honest collection worth careful reading…and reading again.

—Gayle Kaune author, All the Birds Awake, Still Life in the Physical World, Noise from Stars