The Weight of Shadows

In Corey D. Cook's startling and haunting poems, we enter a world where the weight of shadows, stitched into our bodies through longing and loss, wakes us into the world of the living. It is the shadows cast upon the legacy of a woman suffering memory loss that are so indistinct they could only belong to strangers; or the shadows that consume the heart after the stillborn birth of a child. Through the power of story crafted with an experienced hand and keen eye, The Weight of Shadows opens the darkness to reveal the resiliency of the tender spaces in our human lives.

Maura MacNeil, author of Lost Houses (Aldrich Press) and A History of Water

(Finishing Line Press)

Many of these poems relate very difficult stories and explore challenging subjects, but far from weighing down his readers, Corey Cook shines light on those dark moments with courage, sensitivity, and skill. I feel greatly heartened by his willingness to do such hard emotional work, so successfully, in this fine collection.

Martha Christina, author of Against Detachment (Pecan Grove Press) and

Staying Found (Fleur-de-lis Press)

Corey Cook writes in a conversational tone and gets to the point without wasting words. You might think it's an easy style, yet he always finds a line to stop you in your tracks, to knock the wind out of you, and to feel you must read the poem straight through again. Like waves that tumble shards of glass in their surf: "Waves that will soften / their sharp edges... // Transform them into / things to hold on to / Things to cherish," his poems leave you with something to think about, something to keep and show to others.

Alarie Tennille, author of Waking on the Moon (Kelsay Books) and Running

Counterclockwise (Aldrich Press)

Corey D. Cook is the author of four other poetry collections: Rhododendron in a Time of War (Scars Publications), What to Do with a Dying Parakeet (Pudding House Publications), Flock (Origami Poems Project) and White Flag Raised (Kattywompus Press). His work has appeared in the Aurorean, Chiron Review, Freshwater, and Northern New England Review. Corey edits Red Eft Review and lives in Vermont.