A Scripture of Crows

Poetry. Charles Goodrich, who directs the miraculous Spring Creek Project, here writes a manifesto for world change one compact epiphany at a time. Administrator of local discoveries, he names himself a 'commonist, ' loyal to the local, to the democracy of creatures, to the light, keen blade of the language opening the envelope of our sleep. 'The stars are rising like bubbles / in dark ale / The blood you gave to mosquito is what makes the bluebird / so blue. Feeling as the maple tree / must feel on the verge / of leafing out.' And reading, you are at eye-level with bud and dew, with seeds delving down, near joy despite the scheduled anguish of the modern world. These poems are a restorative in their deft humor and quiet promise. They will change your days, if not your life.--Kim Stafford