Lifeguards

As its title promises, Lifeguards introduces poems whose characters gently tug us through threatening waters to safety. The stories told here—of an alcoholic mother, a nerdy gardener, a heroic boyfriend—are enjoined by a cunning jester-prophet who pops up occasionally in the simple guise of Poet.Whether pondering the delights of Dairy Queen or dry martinis, Joy Roulier Sawyer's refreshing blend of genuine reverence and sly humor never fails to entertain, exhort, and enlighten. Tracing life from bucolic Kansas swimming pools to blood-soaked urban streets, the poet offers a lasting vision of deep, unapologetic affection—a rare balm in a cynical age.

Joy Roulier Sawyer is the author of Tongues of Men and Angels (White Violet Press, 2016), as well as several nonfiction books. Her poetry, essays, and fiction appear in such diverse publications as Books & Culture, Gallatin Review, LIGHT Quarterly, Lilliput Review, New York Quarterly, St. Petersburg Review, Theology Today, and others. She holds an MA from New York University, where she received the Herbert Rubin Award for Outstanding Creative Writing, and teaches at Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver.