The Lost Garden by Susan Sklan

The Lost Garden’s poetry is sensitive and well written. The poems include the difficult experiences of travel for a range of refugees and immigrants, explore the complex situations of individuals and also present how the family manages to grow and adjust while enduring multiple layers of change.The book is beautifully aware and I recommend it highly.
–Nina Rubinstein Alonso, whose publications include Travels With Fernando and Distractions En Route. She edits Constellations:a Journal of Poetry and Fiction.

In The Lost Garden, Susan Sklan’s second book of poetry, the garden, though lost, is very much present in the poet’s memory, brought back to life as her clear voice pares experiences down to essentials. “In life everything is moving”, she tells us, quoting another poet. Getting used to new places and customs is a major theme. Animals are a help. Empathetic parallels with their migrations provide comfort, making such movements seem natural, even for us. Though the garden is lost, the loving connections of family and friendships are a valued replacement, saved for them and for us through poems that “emerge into a new space, a better place”.
–David Campbell, Poet/Landscape Painter

These are compelling poems of witness. With elegant simplicity, Susan Sklan takes us on the journey of migration. From its riveting first poem, “The knock on the door”, the reader is carried through the courageous lives of immigrants everywhere. Truly a lyrical masterpiece.
–Lee Varon, author of The Last Bed