Levels of the Ocean by Magdalena Hirt

Many a story and poem have been written of adventures on the high seas. However, in the artistically intelligent work of Maggie Hirt, as if by magic, we are taken on an adventure into poems that are transformed into realizations metaphorical, sensuous, personal, familial, perceptive, common, transcendent, deeply affective. As you encounter these mysterious poems may you have fair winds and following seas.

–Jack Ridl

What a captivating, engrossing sequence of poems! “I will be your bowsprit, your lady between worlds.” From the almost devotional opening lines of “Orion” to the closing murmurs of “…hushed awakening…” that “…can rustle branches, glisten on the water, and shape their whispers,” poem-by-poem throughout LEVELS OF THE OCEAN: THE NIGHT WATCH OF A SAILING MOTHER, we navigate the world’s dark waters with Maggie Hirt, her husband Nick, and their 4 young children. Nights deepen, stars and planets call out, winds wail and whisper, and the sea swells endlessly as they cross the globe’s waters in Selkie, their worthy Westerly 49. An immersive narrative and a terrific chapbook.

–Joel Lipman, Emeritus Professor of English, University of Toledo

Maggie’s poems capture the atmosphere of ocean-crossing in a yacht with humility and awe at the great forces of sea and wind. The penultimate poem, ‘Scuba’ is a deep reflection on our place in this watery world, and the poems as a whole are a celebration of freedom and adventure on the waves.

–Mandy Haggith