“The
poetry of Dan Vera is clear, strong, honest and funny. He’s
the sharp-eyed observer in the corner who doesn’t say much,
but makes every word count. He handles the political and the personal
with equal grace, even as the lines blur. Whether he’s ruminating
on the perils of bilingualism, giving voice to the bewilderment
of his Cuban immigrant family, cursing the censors who tried to
repress gay writers over the years, waiting for the late great
poet Sterling Brown to turn the next corner in Washington, D.C.,
or taking delight in all things delightful, Dan Vera is damn good
company. You’ll see.” Martín
Espada
"To
read Dan Vera is to believe the world is actually a good place
after all – a place where the reputation of poetry is redeemed
with humor and kindness. I read this book first to know it; then
I read it again for all the reasons poetry brings us closer. This
is what we first understood poetry to be, miraculous and humble.
In the deepest part of the heart where we truly reside, there
is always a wish that poetry will rinse off artifice. This is
it. When reading Dan Vera, we are married to the 3 hearts of poetry:
intelligence, style, and honor. This is the most satisfying book
of poems we can read if we want to witness language with a real
poet as its servant."Grace
Cavalieri
"Ranging
through landscape and history, family legacy and gay life, Dan
Vera’s poems are melodic, lucid, and concise examinations
of “the limits of earthly loving.” They remind us of
what blessings the world possesses and what flesh-hating forces
endanger those delights." Jeff
Mann
Dan
Vera's debut collection is just like the cover image -- full of
sparks. And also like the sparkler, the 37 poems crackle and burn
long after you close the covers on this slim volume. Vera embraces
an economy of words, wasting none of his lines or fussing with
complicated metaphors. This is a straightforward collection that
reminded me of Ted Kooser, but also the whimsy often found in
the work of our poetry grandfather, Walt Whitman. Collin
Kelley
“The
poetry of Dan Vera is clear, strong, honest and funny. He’s
the sharp-eyed observer in the corner who doesn’t say much,
but makes every word count. He handles the political and the personal
with equal grace, even as the lines blur. Whether he’s ruminating
on the perils of bilingualism, giving voice to the bewilderment
of his Cuban immigrant family, cursing the censors who tried to
repress gay writers over the years, waiting for the late great
poet Sterling Brown to turn the next corner in Washington, D.C.,
or taking delight in all things delightful, Dan Vera is damn good
company. You’ll see.” Martín
Espada
"To
read Dan Vera is to believe the world is actually a good place
after all – a place where the reputation of poetry is redeemed
with humor and kindness. I read this book first to know it; then
I read it again for all the reasons poetry brings us closer. This
is what we first understood poetry to be, miraculous and humble.
In the deepest part of the heart where we truly reside, there
is always a wish that poetry will rinse off artifice. This is
it. When reading Dan Vera, we are married to the 3 hearts of poetry:
intelligence, style, and honor. This is the most satisfying book
of poems we can read if we want to witness language with a real
poet as its servant." Grace
Cavalieri
"Ranging
through landscape and history, family legacy and gay life, Dan
Vera’s poems are melodic, lucid, and concise examinations
of “the limits of earthly loving.” They remind us of
what blessings the world possesses and what flesh-hating forces
endanger those delights." Jeff
Mann
Dan
Vera's debut collection is just like the cover image -- full of
sparks. And also like the sparkler, the 37 poems crackle and burn
long after you close the covers on this slim volume. Vera embraces
an economy of words, wasting none of his lines or fussing with
complicated metaphors. This is a straightforward collection that
reminded me of Ted Kooser, but also the whimsy often found in
the work of our poetry grandfather, Walt Whitman. Collin
Kelley