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Dig
Richard Spilman’s Dig is a delight to read. His poetry is ordinary language sounding out to the depths an extraordinary sensibility—droll, witty, wise, chockfull of human / humane experience, edged by a quiet spirituality, delicate and sonorous as his “intricate sonata of sleep”—where deep dreams are also widespread, moving from an ode on the death of his father to “Cradle Song” to numerous numinous nature poems (especially the monarchs’ “bright hosanna of flame”) to the first people on earth’s initial experience of sunlight—these, among others, just as lively and learned, are yours to enjoy as you delve into Spilman’s Dig.
—Llewellyn McKernan, author of The Manifesto and Its Blue Ball
Spilman’s poems never force their intelligence and never slack, never misstep, so that you are carried away by their music before you are entirely aware of it. The expression is so natural, allusive, and effortless that the reader is caught up in each poem’s drama.
—Dennis Schmitz, choosing In the Night Speaking for the Sacramento Poetry Center Prize
He is not George Herbert—which of us is?—but the steady and appetitive gaze he brings to experience, his way of looking at and through the phenomena of this world for evidence of order or grounds for faith reminds me of Herbert’s intensity, and this is a rare and excellent thing. Richard Spilman’s poetry is worth our attention, and his Suspension will be, I suspect, a collector’s item.
—David R. Slavitt, choosing Suspension for the New American Press chapbook prize
Throughout this book, after . . . the loves that have left, the chances that have been missed, everything comes to that simple “you will learn to live with less”—which is really all anyone needs to hear. Whether you are an avid poetry reader or just getting your feet wet, Richard Spilman’s collection In The Night Speaking deserves a spot in your library. Its ability to captivate readers with tales told through poetry has won this book both my recommendation and a place on my bookshelf.
—Brandon Funai in Hawaii Pacific Review
—Llewellyn McKernan, author of The Manifesto and Its Blue Ball
Spilman’s poems never force their intelligence and never slack, never misstep, so that you are carried away by their music before you are entirely aware of it. The expression is so natural, allusive, and effortless that the reader is caught up in each poem’s drama.
—Dennis Schmitz, choosing In the Night Speaking for the Sacramento Poetry Center Prize
He is not George Herbert—which of us is?—but the steady and appetitive gaze he brings to experience, his way of looking at and through the phenomena of this world for evidence of order or grounds for faith reminds me of Herbert’s intensity, and this is a rare and excellent thing. Richard Spilman’s poetry is worth our attention, and his Suspension will be, I suspect, a collector’s item.
—David R. Slavitt, choosing Suspension for the New American Press chapbook prize
Throughout this book, after . . . the loves that have left, the chances that have been missed, everything comes to that simple “you will learn to live with less”—which is really all anyone needs to hear. Whether you are an avid poetry reader or just getting your feet wet, Richard Spilman’s collection In The Night Speaking deserves a spot in your library. Its ability to captivate readers with tales told through poetry has won this book both my recommendation and a place on my bookshelf.
—Brandon Funai in Hawaii Pacific Review
54 pages, Paperback
Published September 29, 2023
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