A poetic meditation on life, loss, and legacy.

"So what lasts?" asks the speaker in the poem "El Anatsui." This is the central question of Susan Jackson's new collection In the River of Songs. Jackson is a poet dedicated to exploring the mysteries of what it means to be fully human in a world where love, loss, pain, and joy are irrevocably nested together. These poems seem to answer that whatever does last is not easily defined; maybe only the intangible qualities of heart, perseverance, generosity of spirit, and moments when the poet is suddenly anchored in appreciation for "the ever-flowing fullness of the world." Readers will be touched by the intimate beauty of the poems in this new volume.