Until Now: New Poems

by Carrie Newcomer

Until New Poems is the third book of poetry by musician/author Carrie Newcomer. The soulful wisdom of musician and author Carrie Newcomer, dubbed a “prairie mystic” by the Boston Globe, offers a balm for this anxious and exhausted age of pandemic and political upheaval. Her new book of poems, Until New Poem explores the process of unraveling and reweaving the threads of our lives, and the possibility of transformation after crisis. “We have all lived through a time of great unraveling,” Newcomer says. “Yet, with great disruption comes a possibility for change. We can’t just be healed; we must be transformed.” In this book Newcomer tells the universal human story of loss, resiliency, spiritual connection, and hope with the grace, compassion, and humor that characterizes her work, often turning to the natural world as a source for making sense in challenging times.

Quotes about "Until New Poems"

Carrie Newcomer's beautiful new album and book Until Now stir the soul with the simple We belong to one another . Her songs and poems are subtle and sweet melodies, exploring powerful themes of grief and struggle, wonder and transformation. Listen to her song Like Molly Brown to remember the women who show us how to "rest and pull" in the long labor for justice.
-- Valarie Kaur, author of See No A Memoir & Manifesto of Revolutionary Love

In her intimate book of poems, Until Now , Carrie Newcomer tenderly explores the personal until it reveals the universal, until as she says “the narrative becomes less mine and more ours.” This is what we want from all poetry and song, to find a way to live in our common heart. Carrie has been doing this for years, bringing us to the heart of what matters where we can drink and come alive together.
—Mark Nepo, author of The Book of Awakening and The Way Under the Way

Carrie Newcomer puts the heart back together. Her calming words and music open the day to much greater spaciousness, reviving you wherever you are. She's a shining wonder in every single gracious way.
—Naomi Shihab Nye, Young People's Poet Laureate

Listen to Carrie Newcomer sing, and you hear poetry. Read her poetry, and you hear music. The poems in this beautiful new collection are as alive with music as her albums—and, as always, her words resonate deeply with mind and heart. There’s sublime art in these pages, the kind that is intimately joined to everyday life. She writes about about living with uncertainty and shopping for groceries, the lessons that come with gardening and what cable news overlooks, a second-grade teacher’s kindness and the message of migrating geese, a woofing dog and the struggles of being a parent. Time after time, I’ve known Carrie to experience ordinary things, and a few days later, the world has a new and illuminating poem or song. Full for fifteen years, Carrie has been my colleague and dear friend, so I’m not an impartial observer. But knowing her well gives me license to say that there is no gap between her art and her she lives what she writes and sings about. When I read or listen to Carrie’s work, I often find myself saying, “If she can live that way, why not me?” I think you’ll find the same kind of inspiration in these small masterpieces that always open up into the largeness of life.
—Parker J. Palmer, author of Let Your Life Speak, The Courage to Teach and On the Brink of Everything

Genres: Poetry

86 pages, Paperback

Published August 12, 2021

About the author

Carrie Newcomer is a Grammy winning songwriter, recording artist, author, keynote presenter, performer and educator. She has been described as a “prairie mystic” by the Boston Globe and “ “asks all the right questions” by Rolling Stone, “a voice as rich as Godiva chocolate.” by The Austin Statesman, and "She's the kind of artist whose music makes you stop, think and then say, 'that is so true” by The Dallas Morning News." In the fall of 2009 and 2011 Newcomer was a cultural ambassador to India invited by the American Embassy of India. In October 2011 she released her interfaith collaborative benefit album Everything is Everywhere with world master of the Indian Sarod, Amjad Ali Khan. In June 2012 Carrie Newcomer traveled to Kenya, Africa performing in schools, hospitals, spiritual communities and AIDS hospitals. In 2013 Carrie visited organizations dedicated to non-violent conflict resolution through the arts and the empowerment of women in the Middle East. Huffington Post Religion Community listed her song “Holy as the Day is Spent” as one of the best spiritual songs of 2012.

In 2014 Available Light Records released A Permeable Life. Newcomer also has 14 nationally releases on the Concord/Rounder Records including; The Geography of Light, The Gathering of Spirits and Before and After. In 2014 Newcomer also released her first companion book A Permeable Life: Poems and Essays.
Newcomer, a contemplative Quaker, cuts across secular and spiritual boundaries. In recent years, Newcomer has emerged as a prominent voice for progressive spirituality, social and environmental justice. Carrie internationally facilitates workshops and presents keynotes on the topics of songwriting, spirituality & vocation.

Reviews

[J. Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good stuff, as usual, from my favorite "prairie mystic." It sits beside my desk so I can pick up whenever I want.

[Tina Rieman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely. Just lovely.

[behsforensics]

Cutting is for A Jubilee of People Dreaming
Wildly
with poems by Mahogany L. Browne,
Margarita Engle and Carrie Newcomer

[Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable collection, several favorites in here.