“I offer this prelude on the torn, sprained bodies of poem and poet as an introduction to three books by Toby Martinez de las Rivas, whose religiously inflected poems are strenuous in the sense that they understand the work of poetry in terms of strain. Strain is one word for song.”

“Indeed, the best poets recognize that language, like a single atom, must be ruptured in order to unbridle all the energies buried deep inside.” — Sarah D’Stair

“The three collections I’ve chosen satisfy my desire for specificity. They lean into the peculiar particular and press on the pulse of language that reminds us that there is more wonder to be found in our world. ” Laura Villareal on Emily Stoddard, Karen Rigby, and Brandom Som.