The Accidental Present is exactly that: this Now to which every choice, or evasion of choice, has brought us; it is also the gift of being alive, granted to us by fate or fortune, though oblivion hovers near. Lisa Vihos understands that “within/each thing dead or destroyed, creation is already written”—whether in the ghosts of memory from which new poems, and renewed tenderness, are born, or in “the many flavors of things from the earth,” placed there by a God who sits patiently on the porch, waiting to offer a shot of tequila when we arrive. In these passionate, witty poems, Lisa Vihos shows us that the world we thought we knew is darker, and more beautiful, than we’d ever suspected.
—Ned Balbo, author of The Trials of Edgar Poe and Other Poems, winner of the Donald Justice Poetry Prize
“Slowly guide your hand…along each length and swell…” of each of Lisa Vihos‘s poems in The Accidental Present. At once sensual and intimate, her words are universal in spirit. Poems of aging and dreams of being a poet speak directly to the reader. Yes, we are “part dirt” and “part deity.”
—Bruce Dethlefsen, Wisconsin Poet Laureate 2011-2012 and author of Unexpected Shiny Things
In The Accidental Present, Lisa Vihos tackles the concerns of a woman in mid-life with wit, humor, and the word-play of a writer who is unafraid to take risks yet is enviably in control. Her subjects are the changing geography of the body, desire, sex, motherhood, loss, and grief. She approaches the inevitable march of time and its attendant complexities with hope and optimism. Underlying all is the belief beautifully articulated in the title poem that “even broken things announce new life.”
—Stacey Harwood, Managing Editor, The Best American Poetry digital
Rating: ***** [5 of 5 Stars!]
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