In “First Dust, Star Dust,” Elizabeth Rivers writes: “Still, mystery’s here: dark clouds that cool the universe enough / to let small stars like ours condense and wear / their furious light.” In the lovely play of that verb “wear,” we sense the intelligence of Rivers’ poetry: there is a wide and rich universe condensed in these short verses. I know of no other poet who brings such humanity and gentle humor to the disturbing recognition of our temporary situation in this universe. Look at how closely she gazes, both at microcosm and at macrocosm, in “The Transit of Venus”: “Einstein knew everything/is in transit./Black ant’s tiny shadow/ doubles its scurry past me/ while I practice focus, / binoculars up to my face. / I’ve added Mylar frames: I won’t be blinded,/just put in my place.” Colors of the Universe puts us in our place, and it is a place where we are encouraged to marvel at the world, to chuckle over it and to grieve it. We leave this book restored to a new and brave appreciation of what language makes possible. Christopher Bursk

Colors of the Universe

Literature & Fiction

Rivers, Elizabeth

Poetry

Aldrich Press

What I’d Give Up For Wisdom, Elizabeth Rivers’ new book of poems, needs to be read more than once. On the first reading, just soak in all the felicities of language; on the second reading revel in what you missed the first time; on the next readings listen to what the poems have to teach you. They teach by example. Their attention to this world and its mysteries invites us to be equally attentive – and equally generous in our attention. This is a wise book. An honest book. A book that offers so many pleasures. Here is a poet you can trust. “Wake and accept the moon/ It brings you all it can.” Light shines through these poems. Soak that up too. 
 —Christopher Bursk, author of The First Inhabitants of Arcadia 
 Elizabeth Rivers’ new book invites us to consider the warp and weft of flesh and spirit. With both depth and levity, her poems honor loved ones gone and those remaining, nature’s flowering and dying, the challenges of aging, of confronting death, and the human’s relationship to God. In one poem, she lovingly exhorts an adult son to “Be ready” for what will come as he ages; in another, she ponders the exile from Eden, bargaining with a lonely God on His evening walk to “speak with us again,” for “we might amuse you, saying, / Now we’ll be good!” As for Death, she waves him in through the front door, abides easily with him since he lost his stranger-status; treats him as an inevitable seducer. But for now, she’ll remain in the present, thank you, contemplating, in poem after poem, the mysteries of our connection with others and with the earth in all its deaths and resurrections. 
 —Bernadette McBride, author of Food, Wine, and Other Essential Considerations 
 Make no mistake, from the first poem, this book is a delight. Rivers focuses her keen eye on three areas: aging, her faith and a backyard Eden. Precision keeps these poems honest: they pulse with vitality with nary a squeak of sentimentality. Faith is important (Rivers is married to a minister) but never intrusive. In the title poem, Rivers probes the cost of wisdom, wondering simply “Without this body/how will wisdom taste?” The poems ask many questions and offer thoughtful answers. Reader, you will not be disappointed. 
 —Rodger Lowenthal, poet and critic, Foxchase Review.

What I'd Give Up for Wisdom

Kelsay Books

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Books by Rivers, Elizabeth

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Rivers, Elizabeth. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Colors of the Universe

What I'd Give Up for Wisdom