There is a good deal of darkness in Jeff Holt's poems, yet his sprightliness of language and his gift for form can make them an invigorating experience for the reader. ~ Richard Wilbur
In this collection of startling and superb poems, Jeff Holt has succeeded in speaking for a multitude of the silent, those who can least speak for themselves in this or any society. And he's done it in such authentic terms that the reader is at once spellbound, repelled, compelled and wholly persuaded. Whether these poems--many of them flawless examples of strict forms--convey the voices of the abused or the abuser, betrayed or betrayer, wily plotter or bewildered survivor, each invites the reader into a situation--a life--that Holt understands intimately, thanks to his years of work with the people he portrays. More important still, his words bequeath to the reader his own compassionate, hard-won and frustrated concern for those we seldom see or hear, as only genuine poetry can. Read this book. Once the shock passes, you'll be profoundly grateful you did. ~ Rhina P. Espaillat