Exit Lines

Brown's Exit Lines are prayers for the world, meditations offered by a complex mind that finds the present far from perfect but still urges us to find the infectious wonder in our world. Vibrant with life, a religious element pervades the collection but does not overwhelm the poetry which is never sentimental or dogmatic. What other poet has written a poem about entertaining angels by watching a movie and eating microwaved popcorn? An intelligent human spirit who speaks of everything that flails at his heart, Kevin Brown struggles with blackness but is not broken. Brown's poems teach us to persevere and the importance of cherishing pleasure in small moments like drinking coffee in the morning. Like the warmth that remains in a cup after the coffee is gone, Kevin Brown's poems remain with us reminding us to stay still, to be open to moments of grace by listening to the cry of the heart. Vivian Shipley, editor of Connecticut Review and author of Gleanings These poems don't close the door behind you in terms of faith, rather they open that door widely. Brown is a poet who truly confronts the ordinary and examines experience with a surgeon's knife, cutting away the dross until we arrive at the bones of the extraordinary. He seems intent on following William Carlos Williams dictum: "No ideas but the thing itself." Herbert Woodward Martin, Poet-in-Residence at the University of Dayton and author of The Log of the Vigilante . . . a refreshing and candid look at the emotions and pitfalls of our current society. These works are carefully crafted, as not to overuse a word, a phrase, or a piece of punctuation. The book represents an artist who is at the height of his craft, allowing each poem to express his deepest thoughts and passions. Thomas J. Doan, poetry editor of Paradigm