Skein of Light published by Airlie Press in fall 2014:

“In everything / there is an underside, an other hand, / something to which we are not listening,” writes Karen McPherson and whether the poet is writing of dreamscape or landscape, McPherson’s gorgeous meditative poems dwell in the shifting meanings of
that listening. From every angle, present or past, we see how wonderfully tricky yet compelling seeing or understanding or representing anything is, how transient words are when it comes to translating the momentary they try to name. Though, of course, in the joy of that “perpetual translation,” McPherson would have it no other way, and as her readers, we, too, can be grateful for the endlessly exquisite possibilities these poems embody.
                         —Maxine Scates (author of Undone)
Even in the play or pique of questions, McPherson’s fierce eye has a relentless focus on the resonant image, her ear on the alluring rhyme. Meanwhile, beneath these poems a clock ticks like a metronome to guide us toward a kind of balance where we might, momentarily, rest and draw strength. Powerful work.
                                                                        — John C. Morrison (author of Heaven of the Moment)
In her poetry, Karen McPherson crafts wonderful images, images that often surprise and amaze in their originality and deft use of descriptive language. These images give the reader a foothold in poems that simultaneously explore their subjects and suggest the limitations of language. In Skein of Light, the experiences of exploration and limitation happen again and again. The meditations on memories, relationships, and works of art reveal a relishing of words and syntax and what they might playfully or with utmost seriousness convey. They also gesture toward what we can’t know, can’t express, can’t share, and it is at the intersection of what can and cannot be conveyed that poet and reader momentarily meet in a now shared understanding.
                                                                           — Ce Rosenow (author of Pacific and A Year Longer)
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Order directly from Airlie Press. Ordering directly through the Airlie Press website maximizes your support of this independent poetry press.
To request a review copy, for consideration for teaching or for writing a review, please contact Airlie Press.

You can also find this book at wonderful independent bookstores, in Eugene at Tsunami Books, Black Sun Books, J. Michaels, and the University of Oregon Bookstore; in Portland at Another Read Through, Daedalus Books, and Powell's Books; in Salem at The Book Bin; and in Corvallis at Grass Roots Books & Music.


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"Tinyside" of a poem from Skein of Light designed and letter-pressed by Darling Press
Fine letterpress “tinysides” (4×9) in a limited edition of 100, designed and printed by Darling Press and
signed and numbered by the poet.
You can purchase a signed "tinyside" of "Walking the Beach Again"  right here.