Raven’s Paradise

"Raven's Paradise is so packed with pleasure that I was distressed when I reached the last page. disappointed that there was no more of it to read! There is pleasure, first, for the five senses---that essential sign of genuine poetry at work---and then pleasure for the imagination. in the bold details of the unfolding narrative and the way they draw the reader into the action from the poem's opening line until the very last. And finally, there is enduring pleasure for the intellect, in the way the poet summons up material we all know but places it in the challenging light of an entirely new sensibility. This delightful, outrageous, profound, wise and hilarious creation story takes on the mythology and the sacred writings of various cultures, delves into philosophy, sex, history, and human nature, and nods gracefully to shakespeare, Hopkins. Dickinson, Yeats, and Whitman, among others. I'm hopping---as a rader, for purely selfish reasons---to encounter much more in the future from this highly original American voice."---Rhina Espaillat Bright Hill Press Awards Judge

"Red Hawk is Rabelais's lost nephew. He has been out in the wilderness, and come back with a brilliant new creation story. This is really tasty."---Coleman Barks Author, The Collected Poems of Coleman Barks

"Stark and Raven-mad, Red Hawk's book bursts out of its bindings with the raw energy of creation....Quite an amazing and truly original work...."---Dan Veach Editor, Atlanta Review