The Silence Before the Whisper Comes

These quiet meditations offer lovely moments of clarity and expansion that sew / history to future / with the fine needle of heart. In the poet's words they are a preface of hope.- Susan McMaster Poet and EditorBruce Kauffman writes of seeing with a naked heart - a phrase that encapsulates much of this striking new collection. These are tough little poems that grapple with life's paradoxes and with mortality itself; but they also undulate and whisper and resonate with a graceful silence. Kauffman's is ultimately a poetry of renewal and expansiveness. His poet's eye ranges from low to high from insects to hawks - and beyond to Poe's raven. And in all of this the forest is never far away. These poems get under your skin and stay there.- Jeanette Lynes Author of Archive of the UndressedIn The Silence Before the Whisper Comes Bruce Kauffman transports readers to those hushed moments in which we experience a profound and often unsettling connection to the earth and our place in it. The blueness of the sky a woman braiding her hair the song of the wind - Kauffman takes everyday moments and infuses them with reflection yearning and poignant beauty.- Clelia Scala Editorial Director for The Open Book Foundation