The Way Home

The Way Home is a compelling book filled with colorful characters and dramatic images. Widerkehr writes of a difficult yet deserving father the plights of fragile mental patients lifes beauty and transience - all with a keen eye and compassionate heart. Craig Lesley author of Burning Fence and The Sky Fisherman Widerkehr takes us along on journeys through a family members mental illness and his fathers tenderness and cruelty. When his accountant father dies Widerkehr writes I cant divide zero into you and not get infinity. These poems set in the gray rains of an un-pacific northwest take us far away not on a road maybe deeper. Peggy Shumaker author of Gnawed Bones and Just Breathe Normally These sophisticated and gorgeous poems are enlivened by a large spirit one which fully examines a life marked by both celebration and loss. Widerkehr draws clarity from a gibberish of twisted roots and honors the people who have been the fabric of his life. The entire book can be read as a troubled loving prayer that values the world. James Bertolino author of Finding Water Holding Stone Actions speak louder than words says the father in one of Richard Widerkehrs poems. Fortunately for us that cant be the poets motto. Richards words possess their own sort of quiet power in poems that surprise with their quirky originality and their own evocative climate. In a note of irony Widerkehr in The Way Home with only his words says goodbye to that father. Lynda Schor author of The Body Parts Shop and Seduction I dont know why this book is so unique and special but it is. Its not one detail laid down after another or the shock of tragic events that captures the reader. Its Widerkehrs voice his searing questions his vulnerability the honest details Yiddish quotes surprising images and ultimately the forgiveness that runs through these poems that make them unforgettable. Widerkehr is a poet who knows his craft and his heart. This book delivers both. Gayle Kaune author of Still Life in the Physical World Richard Widerkehrs poetry comfortably links nature with the cognitive world. Since poets are known to use language as a shortcut to the soul itself I believe these poems can become essential to readers. I think Widerkehr got it right. Anita Boyle author of Bamboo Equals Loon