Glimpse by Maura Snell

“…[Y]ou have to really pay attention or it goes right by,” writes Maura Snell in Glimpse.  Here, in this compelling collection, the poet pushes against the ephemeral nature of life as if it was a door leading to unchangeable realities.  Among its many themes, these poems explore familial love and longing, the deep echoes of personal and national sorrowing, the bonds of friendship, and even pet grief.  “Who is the patron saint of now?” Snell asks.  But the poet reminds us that in these fleeting moments of our lives, there are “Whispers of Magic.” And perhaps this is where, in the “long drives in spring sun with the windows rolled down,” we will find comfort and hope.

–Lois Roma-Deeley, author of Waiting for the Mercy Ship

“Maybe this is a weird thing to say but Glimpse by Maura Snell made me feel a lot of things and that means that I think, I hope, I know, that these poems will make you feel a lot of things, too.  And the older I become the more it means that poems do this, that this is the work of a poem­­–to make readers feel things. Enough with irony and wit and linguistic pyrotechnics. That’s why we used to sit around the campfire all the time—to tell stories and sing songs so we could feel things and by feeling them we could have community. This book, Glimpse, is about community. It’s about the community of women, of mothers, of motherhood, of mothers and daughters, and, in turn, about everything and everyone. Glimpse is a campfire. It’s sitting around the campfire to feel things like sadness and joy and solitude and sacredness and love. It’s a book that works on the body. These poems work on the body, and you will cry and laugh and not be afraid of the snow and the personal nature of these poems will open doorways and portals into your own lives. These poems will get you close, at least for an instant, to the stuff of your own life. They will give you a glimpse into what you know and what the great mystery and beauty of not knowing can do to our hearts to make us come together, sit around the flame, and sing.”

–Matthew Lippman, author of six poetry collections. His latest book, We Are All Sleeping With Our Sneakers On, is published by Four Way Books. His previous collection, Mesmerizingly Sadly Beautiful (2020) is published by Four Way Books. It was the recipient of the 2018 Levis Prize.