Every Species of Hope

<div>In his first book of poetry in twenty years Michael J. Rosen captures life in the foothills of the Appalachians. <i>Every Species of Hope: Georgics Haiku and Other Poems</i> uses a variety of poetic forms as well as Rosen's own pen-and-ink drawings to give voice to the predicaments of living among other creatures who share a plot of land we think we claim as home. The poems are an attempt at homeostasis: that balancing act every creature works at every hour of every day-a way of living peacefully expending the right energy in the most productive ways avoiding or deflecting trouble gravitating toward sources of fulfillment and contentment.<br>  <br> At the center of this book is a suite of poems inspired by Virgil's <i>Georgics</i> or poems of pastoral instruction. In Rosen's case he is more the student than the teacher. Likewise five short sections of haiku continue his meditation on-or <i>mediation</i> of-art and nature. As he has written Haiku provides a brief and mirror-like calm in the choppy waters-in the undertow-of current events: a stillness in time where more than our singular lives can be reflected.<br>  <br>  <br> Illustrated with two dozen pages from the author's own journal <i>Every Species of Hope</i> is the consummation of decades of observation humility and awe. <br>  </div>