"'The hallmarks of Wally Swist's poetry are a keen naturalist's eye and a sensitive crafting of language. In On Beauty . . ., he exhibits the same qualities in critical and fictional prose and drama-- all in the search for and expression of a sense of beauty.'--Clarence Wolfshohl, Editor, Printer, and Publisher of Timberline Press, 1975-2015"--Page 4 of cover
In this remarkable collection, Wally Swist deftly fuses the sensual-in food, in nature, in art-with the intellectual and spiritual. Swist's poetry pulls us magnetically from one image to the next, from the "lush purple flowers of hepatica" to the horrors of the battlefield, from the setting of a breakfast table and a cat's meow to the pleasures of love-making, from apples and cheese on a plate to religious faith. Each transition, each merging of physical sensation with spiritual insight, is at once delicate and powerful, startling and perfect. With its technical virtuosity, intelligence, and depth, Swist's poetry lingers in the ear, the mind, and the heart long after the page is closed.