Geography of Loss by Judith Prest

Judith’s poems are close to the bone, earthy, organic. As they acknowledge grief, loss, suffering, they elevate and transform it. From coal, comes the diamond. From loss comes the light.

–Jan Phillips, Author, Speaker, Artist and Activis

“In the Geography of Loss, Judith Prest reminds us “Sometimes it takes /a dark day/ for me to find/ my own light”, as she maps those departures folks both must endure and overcome as best they can. Great aunts, both parents, a beloved dead grandmother whose spatula goes missing and creates an absence memory fills. Despite death’s “discordant notes,” we go on these poems say, it is what we do as human beings, until even “Beneath the now, outlines of ghost trees stand sentinel, bear witness.”

–Sean Thomas Dougherty, author of The Second O of Sorrow

Judith’s poems speak elegantly yet simply about loss and life and love. Her poignant words about her personal experiences tap into the universal experience of what it is to be human, to connect, to love, to lose and to carry on. Held in her words, one can feel deeply, perhaps cry, maybe laugh, and most certainly be changed.