Blood Weather

Among Alice Friman's many great gifts is the ability to stare unflinchingly at the dark complexities of family, nature, civilization, and art that form the groundwork of our narratives of self, and to report back in her stately yet exceedingly practical voice on the difficult beauty she discovers there. This is a brave and honest book, a wise and forthright declaration of power, understanding, and what it means to love. ~Sidney Wade, author of Bird Book

In her stunning new volume of poems, Blood Weather, Alice Friman explores—with unflinching precision and generosity of spirit—the autumnal wants and understandings that bind us, divide us, gift us to the great unknown. Here the dead, however buried, are kissed and so transformed into the vital summons to live more mindful, grateful, and awake, consecrated in the blood coursing through the loving eye. A deeply moving book. ~Bruce Bond, author of Rise and Fall of the Lesser Sun Gods

Resilient intelligence and a mighty wit distinguish these poems. The poems take tragic themes and painful memories and the stormy weather of human nature as their focus, but the poet’s wit restores perspective and is grounded and realistic. Friman’s wit is a survival mechanism that is a form of courage and an indicator not just of survival skills but also of the author’s implicit and unquenchable self-respect. ~Margaret Gibson, author of Not Hearing the Wood Thrush