The Dust

About the Author\nJ.R. Solonche has published poetry in more than 400 magazines, journals, and anthologies since the early 70s. He is the author of BEAUTIFUL DAY (Deerbrook Editions, 2015), WON'T BE LONG (Deerbrook Editions, 2016), Heart's Content (Five Oaks Press), Invisible (nominated for the Pulitzer Prize by Five Oaks Press), The Black Birch (Kelsay Books), I, EMILY DICKINSON & OTHER FOUND POEMS (Deerbrook Editions, 2018), In Short Order (Kelsay Books), Tomorrow, Today and Yesterday (Deerbrook Editions), TRUE ENOUGH (Dos Madres Press, 2019), The Jewish Dancing Master (Ravenna Press), If You Should See Me Walking on the Road (Kelsay Books), IN A PUBLIC PLACE (Dos Madres Press, 2019), TO SAY THE LEAST (Dos Madres Press, 2019), The Time of Your Life (Adelaide Books), THE PORCH POEMS (Deerbrook Editions, 2020 Shelf Unbound Notable Indie Book), Enjoy Yourself (Serving House Books), Piano Music (nominated for the Pulitzer Prize by Serving House Books), THE DUST (Dos Madres Press, 2021), For All I Know (Kelsay Books), A Guide of the Perplexed (Serving House Books), The Moon Is the Capital of the World (Word Tech Communications), Years Later (forthcoming in March from Adelaide Books), Selected Poems 2002 - 2021 with an Introduction by Grace Cavalieri, (forthcoming in April from Serving House Books), and coauthor of Peach Girl: Poems for a Chinese Daughter (Grayson Books). He lives in the Hudson Valley.\nPoetry. THE DUST, J.R. Solonche's twenty-first book of poetry, is a worthy addition to his oeuvre. In poems like "Purple Crocus," "Skunk Cabbage," "Opossum," "There Is an Insistent Green," "Such a Noise in the Woods," and many others, his eye for the natural detail is as keen as ever. And his celebrated wit has never been sharper than in "A Shotgun," "The Beast and Beauty," "The Attainment of Entertainment," "Bad Botanical Garden," "Fifty-Five Poems Starting with Lines by Emily Dickinson," and "The Devil's Villanelle," which alone is worth the price of admission. Behind it all is Solonche's humanity, grace, and good humor. True, you might have to pull back the curtain a little, but you'll see him there all right, looking out at you, a twinkle in his cold eye.