Description
Poetry. Winner of The Bitter Oleander Press Library of Poetry Award for 2017. "Ray Keifetz obviously has a great passion for language, image and depth perception. His ability to maintain intense feelings throughout his poems and yet bring some restraint to his language in order not to give in to the all encompassing terror he could have written is amazing. He uses nature to make his suffering bearable, yet it is just this insight into nature which makes his language so poignant. In fact, every poem starts with a light observation of some daily occurrence yet this immediately falls under his spell. His mature use of language is evident in every line. Everything around him bends to his vision. Incredible talent. I am impressed with his strength of words that invoke his suffering, yet not make it his goal. The poems stand above his suffering."—Silvia Scheibli
Author Bio
Starting in the Northeast, Ray Keifetz has crisscrossed the country multiple times and currently resides in Northern California. Along the way he attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, lived in Italy for a year, took up furniture building, and fell in love with words. His poems and stories have appeared in The Ashland Creek Press, Bitter Oleander, Briar Cliff Review, Kestrel, the Louisville Review, Other Voices and more and have twice been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best New Poets. NIGHT FARMING IN BOSNIA (The Bitter Oleander Press, 2018), his first poetry collection, grew out of the calamitous ending of the 20th century and the equally dark beginning of the 21st. However, he is quick to quote one of his favorite authors Malcolm Lowry "It is not only darkness I see," but admits it takes effort.
Author City: EL SOBRANTE, CA USA