The Monastery of Stars

The twin axes of poetry- lyric and elegy- shepherd The Monastery of Stars. In these beautiful poems, Shaun Griffin sings for dead poets and the prisoners who are both his students and brothers. Everywhere through this luminous book- I could even say eternally-the land is partnered by "Art's rudimentary hand in the petroglyphs" ("On the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Arts Council"). Nevada is lucky to have the tender mercy of this poet.

Claudia Keelan

In previous books, Shaun Griffin has described the Nevada high desert with the beauty and candor that Wendell Berry employs in writing about green Kentucky. Here Griffin turns his gaze to other places such as Latin America and Spain and creates a monument to the dignity of people he meets and observes. His portraits of those who have suffered or who are on the down-side of advantage are in league with the empathy of Philip Levine or the witnessing of Carolyn Forché.

Gary Short